Texas Football: Longhorns buy into college football’s analyst race

Texas football is expected to make two additions to their off-field coaching staff, hiring former North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora and former Kansas head coach David Beaty.

Restrictions on the size of college football coaching staffs are nothing new. The move to add a 10th on-field assistant in 2018 brought some margin of competitive balance to the coaching race, but there’s no denying deeper pockets will forever have the upper hand. That’s because the rules regarding the size of any particular staff are flexible.

When you peel back the onion, the reality of the college football analyst becomes readily apparent. Unlike a low-level recent college graduate at a fortune 500 company, the college football analyst is little more than coach speak at a blueblood program for an additional coaching guru who does not count against the 10-coach limit.

Nick Saban pioneered this model at Alabama and has continued it to this day. As the Tide prepare for the 2019 season their support staff includes former Tennessee head coach Butch Jones, former Houston head coach Major Applewhite, former Arizona head coach and Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops, among others.

Texas is throwing its hat into the ring with vigor. In an interview with the New York Times in 2017, Tom Herman himself said to compete with the heavyweights of the sport the Longhorns “have to do business the way business is done.” That business includes former North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora and former Kansas head coach David Beaty, both of which are expected to eventually join the Longhorns staff for the 2019 season.

The Longhorns and Tide aren’t alone. Programs around the country are filling their coffers with as many proven college football minds as they can find. For all we know, Texas might not be done.