"quite frequently." Eventually, the two struck up a relationship.

"Whenever we were in the same area recruiting at the same time," Herman said, "we’d get together over dinner and talk football."

Nebraska jumped to the Big Ten in 2011. Herman jumped to the Big Ten in 2012. When Herman became the head coach at Houston, Urban Meyer replaced him with Beck.

He was asked to juggle the Buckeyes' remarkable quarterback battle of Barrett vs. Cardale Jones, though Meyer made the call on the starter. Beck held the title of co-offensive coordinator, though Meyer and Ed Warinner called the plays. Beck tried to describe that situation politely last week, but there’s no other way to sum it up: "It’s kind of weird. Everything was by committee."

At Texas, Beck is fully in chargeof the offense and welcomes any input Herman wants to offer. The input that convinced Herman he’d made the right hire came from his former Buckeye quarterbacks.

"The thing that sold me on Tim Beck was his relationships with his players," Herman said, "and the fact that two young men I love dearly and care about deeply in J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones gave him the big thumbs-up."

Going into another high-stakes gig featuring a demanding fan base, Beck says he only worries about what his coaches and players think of him. He knows to expect the second-guessing. What did he learn from those last two jobs? He brings up an old Bobby Bowden quote.

"It’s six inches from a halo to a noose," Beck said. "One minute, everybody loves you.