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Texas hired Tom Herman to win championships, and he must get his players to start having the mentality that it takes to win titles.

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Let’s leave no doubt about it: anything less than winning the Big 12 and national title during his tenure will be seen as a disappointment for new Texas football head coach Tom Herman.

That is exactly why he was brought to Austin, and why he will be paid $5.25 million in his first year under a five-year contract. The powers-that-be at the Lone Star State’s flagship university – and the fans that fill Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium – expect nothing less from the Longhorns. When a coach doesn’t fulfill expectations or a once powerful head coach starts experience a falloff, Texas will find someone else.

For Herman, getting his players to understand that championship mentality will be the first step toward taking Texas back to perennial power.

“I want them to know what champions practice like. I want that to be fully ingrained. Winning championships is exhausting.”

It has been some time since any Texas football players knew what a championship felt like. 2009 to be exact, a lifetime for a fan base so used to success on the field.

In Herman, the Longhorns have someone who has won a national title as an assistant at Ohio State under Urban Meyer and quickly became the hottest name in coaching circles after two seasons in Houston, leading the Cougars to a 22-4 record and 2015 American Athletic Conference championship.

He must live up to the hype and Texas-sized expectations now, and so far he has said everything that the Longhorns faithful want to hear.

After linebacker Breckyn Hager said he will not cut his hair until Texas wins the Big 12, Herman responded with, “Hopefully, we can get him a haircut soon.”

Soon can’t come fast enough for a fan base starving for success.

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