I believe it all flows together.
We worked a ton of miracles with Colt McCoy. He was a dynamic QB, and unfortunately a risky single point of failure. We rode him through the season his senior year, and darned near made it. An innocent hit on a routine option play changed college football as we know it. Without that hit that took Colt out of the game, Texas obliterates Alabama. Texas doesn't change anything, and Alabama goes on to be just a pretty good college football team.
Instead, Colt is lost for the game. Gilbert does his level best, but isn't ready for the big stage. Bama ascends to an unstoppable juggernaut, and Mack decides he's never again trusting success to one player. He begins to remake the Texas Longhorns into a physical Alabama team - a concept that the Texas high schools just aren't embracing. He tries to jam players into roles they're just not suited for. Gilbert never gets his feet under himself, and Mack gets ushered out.
Strong, for all his refreshing focus on team fundamentals, is a coach with little exposure to this big stage. His cupboard is bare, and his offense is a muddle of untrained linemen and speedy outside guys. With no clear vision, Big 12 defenses just squat near the ball and wait. His own defense works tirelessly, but just can't finish a game after the 10th 3 and out series.
Tom Herman is still learning his style, but he's been on the arm of knowledgeable leaders. He knows what it takes to win at this level, and has winning as his sole focus. The players are re-learning to hate losing. Every day, they can win or lose position battles, unit battles, training battles, etc. The game on Saturday is only one more contest. He's surrounded himself with like minded coaches. If a unit isn't producing, changes get made until it is - even if a coach gets moved on.
Texas will continue to grow. I am, though, curious to see what happens when one of the critical assistant coaches can no longer be money whipped to stay. Replacing talent will be a big test.
