College coach after college coach will explain that the most important hire on their staff when they take a new job is their strength and conditioning coach.
Tom Herman was lucky enough to bring Yancy McKnight on board with him, first at Houston, and now at Texas, and Herman characterizes their relationship and being in tune with each other philosophy-wise to that of a "soul mate".
"In this profession, when you click with somebody professionally from an ideological standpoint, he's my soul mate when it comes to coaches."
It's a partnership that cannot be understated. A few years ago, Butch Jones said that he and his staff did some research and found that 86% of a student athlete's time is spent with the strength staff. With that number in mind it's easy to see why so many guys feel that hire is the most important on a staff.
Go inside what the Longhorns are doing under McKnight in this All Access video they recently released, which provides some insight into their approach and philosophy.
https://youtu.be/Ouj_NIwrSCw