AUSTIN (NewsNation Now) — Tom Herman has been fired after four seasons as head coach of the Texas Longhorns, Texas Athletics Director Chris Del Conte announced in a statement on Saturday.

Del Conte said he recommended a coaching change “to get us on track to achieving our ambitious goals.” President Jay Hartzell and Board of Regents Chair Kevin Eltife concurred and approved the change to fire Herman.

UT’s full statement below:

“With our football season coming to a close, our vice president and athletics director, Chris Del Conte, has evaluated the UT program’s strengths and weaknesses and where the program is relative to our goals. While we have made measured progress during the past several years under Tom Herman’s leadership, Chris has recommended to the university president, Jay Hartzell, that UT make a coaching change to get us on track to achieving our ambitious goals. President Hartzell and the chair of our Board of Regents, Kevin Eltife, concur with this recommendation and have approved the change. We thank Coach Herman for his service and dedication to our student-athletes, our program and our university.”

University of Texas Longhorns

Herman’s Longhorns failed to live up to the lofty expectations placed on the 2020 season. Texas defeated Colorado in the Alamo Bowl 55-23 on Tuesday night.

The 2020 season was seen as a make or break year for the Longhorns with Herman’s recruiting classes fully immersed within the program. Senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger returned for his fourth season and new offensive and defensive coordinators were expected to get the most out of an experienced roster.

The expected success never materialized. The Longhorns dropped back-to-back games to TCU and Oklahoma, falling to .500 with a 2-2 record just a month into the regular season. Texas reentered the conference championship conversation with three straight wins but couldn’t beat Iowa State at home in a pivotal Black Friday showdown.

Texas missed the Big 12 championship game for the third time in four years after its 23-20 loss to Iowa State at home. A blowout win at Kansas State on Saturday didn’t do enough to sway university leaders to keep the fourth-year head coach. Herman ends his Texas head coaching tenure with a 31-18 overall record and a 22-13 conference record.

Every conference game went down to the wire for the Longhorns in 2020. Texas played in three overtime games and its average margin of victory was 7.25 points. The Longhorns’ biggest Big 12 win was a 27-16 victory at home against Baylor in October. Close games became a staple during Herman’s time at Texas with 27 games decided by one score or less. The Longhorns went 14-13 in those close contests.

When the Longhorns hired Herman in November 2016, he was seen as a can’t-miss coaching name, quickly rising up the ranks after successful stints as the head coach at the University of Houston and the offensive coordinator for Ohio State’s 2014 national championship team. Herman called Texas his “dream job” after working as a graduate assistant with the Longhorns under former head coach Mack Brown.

NewsNation affiliate KXAN contributed to this report.