Where Tom Herman can help Chicago Bears

Tom Herman had a bit of an embarrassing career as the University of Texas head coach, so when he was hired by the Chicago Bears, it was easily a move that was passed over. However, while nobody can deny that Herman has his issues, there is also a reason he wound up at a prestigious school like UT.

Herman had serious success as a head coach at Houston and helped win a National Championship as an offensive coordinator at Ohio State. No one is saying he is the person to change everything in Chicago, but his resume for his status is strong. He does not have the pressure of being the head coach and dealing with all of the side issues, but rather will focus on what got him to that point.

There are reasons the Chicago Bears brought him in as well, and areas that he can help improve on.

Power Running

Even before Ohio State at Rice, and through Houston and Texas, Tom Herman has preached a power running game. He smashed Ezekiel Elliott into a national championship, and while he never won consistently at Texas, he consistently brought the same principles.

Matt Nagy has typically run an outside zone scheme, but one of the bigger changes after James Daniels got injured and Cody Whitehair moved to guard was running more power. It got Whitehair to plow right ahead downhill and was suitable for all of the shuffling on the line.

It is fair at this point to say that the Bears running game is now a mix of power and outside zone. Herman may be helping keep that mix split, but also will add his college mix, which was a power running attack, mixed with a spread offense. Nagy wants to continue to spread defenses thin, and Herman can help keep power principles in a spread attack.

Tight End Versatility

It never worked out at Texas, but Herman had always got the best out of his tight ends. When he was hired here is what he noted about his tight end usage.

"“We think that position is probably as hard — or maybe complex is the right word — as the quarterback in this offense,” Herman said on National Signing Day. “We need an extremely versatile guy that can split out on the slot, put his hand on the ground, block a defensive end, and one that can motion in the back field and become a fullback or H-back of sorts."

Herman needs versatility from his tight ends, and he and Nagy see eye-to-eye here. This will be Impactful for Cole Kmet. Expect him to move around more often pre-snap, but also for the Bears to utilize him to explode the running game, by getting him in space as a lead blocker.

Quarterback Mobility

It is fair to note that a highlight from Herman was winning with Cardale Jones, a less than mobile quarterback. However, when Herman first started coaching, he was looking at Braxton Miller, who moved to wide receiver,

Speaking of, his quarterback at Houston was Greg Ward, who yes, plays wide receiver in the NFL. Shane Buechele and Sam Ehlinger are both in the draft this year, but both had the mobile aspect of their game.

One of the keys of his running attack was that the quarterback was always a threat. It made his spread attack tougher to defend. This is not to say that the Bears will sign Cam Newton, or draft a mobile QB just to make Herman happy as an assistant.

However, the Bears had to see Nick Foles last season and realize that he does not help the run game because he cannot move. Between tight end usage, power running from the spread, and incorporating a mobile quarterback, there are overlapping features of what Herman and Nagy expect from their offense. It seems as though Herman can add a lot of flavors, and even highlight some of the things Nagy has tried to, but could not have with his hands full elsewhere.