Houston loses its final game as Tom Herman coaching rumors heat up

Houston lost a heartbreaker to Memphis the same week that its coach was connected to other jobs

Tom Herman might be the next coach at LSU ... or he might not. He might be the next coach at Texas ... or he might not. Shoot, he might be the coach at Houston again in 2017.

Or ... he might not.

It's too early to say what Herman will do for sure over the next couple of weeks, but we know what he is right now: a coach of a third-place team in the American Athletic Conference West division (pending outcomes elsewhere) after a 48-44 loss to Memphis.

Yet, no name in the coaching market is hotter. It's a wild juxtaposition, but here we are.

With all the rumors, it was easy to forget that Houston had a game against Memphis at all. Honestly, Houston looked like it forgot, too. The Tigers jumped out to a surprising 21-10 first quarter lead and led 34-17 at halftime. It would be an assumption to say Houston's players and coaches were distracted by the noise, but we also know such things aren't unprecedented.

The Cougars deserve credit for battling back. Losing in the last 20 seconds shows this was a game until the end. However, this was clearly a different team than the one amped up from the start against Louisville. That stark week-to-week difference has been a crutch for this team in 2016.

Losing to Memphis doesn't make Herman a bad coach. That's the risk of overreacting. This is, after all, the same guy who throttled Louisville 36-10 the week before, and beat Oklahoma and Florida State. When the stage is the biggest, Herman has been an impressive game planner and motivator.

But the totality of Herman's young career also tells us that this is a second-year coach with losses to Memphis, SMU, Navy and UConn, all of which were unranked at the time of the game. There have been some monumental high and head-scratching lows.

Herman inherited a talented and hungry team in 2015 from Tony Levine that simply hadn't reached its potential. They did it last year by reaching a New Year's Six game and beating a traditional blue blood. The results haven't been the same in the follow-up effort. Then again, they often aren't.

Some of it can be blamed on injury. Quarterback Greg Ward Jr. has been nursing shoulder and leg injuries all season. Losing on the road at Navy, as we know now, is no huge indictment. The Midshipmen are ranked and could win the AAC.

However, giving up 48 points to Memphis one week after shutting down Heisman frontrunner Lamar Jackson? There have been some topsy-turvy moments for Herman's Cougars.

Despite all of this, however, Herman's name is No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 in just about every coaching vacancy. Thanksgiving Day should have been known as Herman Day, and it was one conflicting report after the next. LSU was all-in with Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher ... before they were all-in with Herman as a report surfaced that Fisher was staying Tallahassee. As for Texas, an 11th hour push indicated Charlie Strong would be back in 2017.

In the middle of all of it was Herman, who told ESPN's Cole Cubelic before Friday's game against Memphis "don't believe anything you read."

Good, because my eyes were starting to cross.

If this was Herman's last game with Houston, it will conjure memories of 2011 when the Cougars got run out of the Conference USA Championship Game with Kevin Sumlin about to take the Texas A&M job. The stakes were much lower this time around, but the whirlwind of rumors surrounding a stud coach were the same.

Hopefully, for everyone's sanity, this situation will be resolved soon, too. One way or another.