Houston needs a new head coach after Dana Holgorsen was fired Sunday.
Holgorsen compiled a 31-28 record in five seasons. His run included a 12-2 record and top-20 finish in 2021 and the program’s move up to the Big 12 this year, but he failed to reach a bowl game in three of five seasons. Since Tom Herman took Houston to a 13-1 record in 2015, the Cougars haven’t gotten back to that level.
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Houston is a job with a high ceiling, a recent history of success and an easy recruiting base. There’s a lot to like. But it did not reach its potential under Holgorsen.
So how good is the Houston job? What names could get in the mix? Here are some factors to keep in mind.
It’s a Big 12 job now, with a lot of potential
Some might forget that Houston lured a sitting Power 5 coach to the American Athletic Conference when it hired Holgorsen in 2019. UH paid him more than he made at West Virginia, even as a Group of 5 program.
School president Renu Khator once famously said Houston fires coaches for going 8-4. UH probably came to regret creating that public standard, especially as Holgorsen stuck around despite not meeting it multiple times. But it was a statement about high expectations and potential. The Cougars have won at least 10 games five times since 2006.
Houston football is actually the third-youngest Power 5 program, beginning play in 1946. That’s only older than Florida State (1947) and UCF (1979). But the Cougars had plenty of top-20 finishes in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s. Andre Ware won a Heisman in 1989. Now they’re in the Big 12 after a long road back since the collapse of the Southwest Conference.
The facilities are improving
Houston opened TDECU Stadium in 2014 and an indoor practice facility in 2017, and the school broke ground on a new football operations facility on Friday. It’s all coming together.
The $130 million football facility will include sports performance centers, academic support services, new coaches offices and more. Those around UH have said this is the last piece for the program to be on par with the rest of the country in facilities.
UH had lagged behind in NIL but is making strides this year
A school’s NIL situation has become a top question among coaching candidates for any job. It’s as important in recruiting and retention as anything else in this new era of college football.
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The LinkingCoogs collective has facilitated several team-wide NIL deals across multiple sports. In April, the Daspit Law Firm signed a $1 million NIL deal with the football team. In October, the firm signed the men’s basketball team to a $350,000 deal through LinkingCoogs.
Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale has twice signed the men’s basketball program to NIL deals, including a $1 million deal announced in July. LinkingCoogs claims more than $5 million in NIL deals since it launched in October 2022, according to On3.
What other jobs are open?
As a Texas Big 12 job, there are a lot of inherent things to like about the opening. But it isn’t the only one. Texas A&M is already open. Baylor might open.
If that happens, there could be an overlap of the candidate pool, and it could drive up the price of certain coaches.
So what names could get in the mix?
Based on conversations with industry sources, these are some names to keep an eye on.
UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor is expected to be a top candidate. Late last season, there were rumors going around that UH was close to firing Holgorsen and hiring Traylor. It wasn’t the case, but Traylor’s stock has only gone up since then. A legendary Texas high school coach at Gilmer, Traylor is 38-14 at UTSA, with his Roadrunners winning the last two Conference USA titles and going 7-1 in AAC play this year. He’s beloved throughout the state, he knows the machinations and he wins. It checks every box. But will someone else hire him first?
Tulane head coach Willie Fritz nearly took the Georgia Tech job last year amid an AAC championship and Cotton Bowl-winning season but stuck with the Green Wave. He has followed up last year’s 12-2 season with an 11-1 start this season, Tulane’s two best records in the last 25 years. But the athletic director who hired him, Troy Dannen, recently left for Washington, and quarterback Michael Pratt may be gone soon. The 63-year-old Fritz has indicated that this might be his last job, but the opportunity to coach at the Power 5 level is the one thing missing on his resume. He has won everywhere from junior college to Division II, FCS and the Group of 5 — and he knows the area. Fritz coached at Sam Houston State three different times, including a 40-15 record as head coach from 2010 through 2013.
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UNLV head coach Barry Odom has taken the Rebels to 9-3 in his first season, their second bowl game since 2001 and their first Mountain West Championship Game appearance ever. The Oklahoma native also went 25-25 as Missouri’s head coach from 2016 through 2019, with three bowl-eligible seasons. Odom has been in the mix for a few jobs in this cycle.
Texas State head coach G.J. Kinne has had a quick rise. The 34-year-old, who played for Traylor in high school, is 18-7 as a head coach. He went 12-2 at Incarnate Word in San Antonio last year and is taking Texas State to its first bowl game this year. He’s a smart offensive mind who successfully navigated the transfer portal to rebuild Texas State’s roster in one year. How would he fare at a Texas job that has the bells and whistles?
Texas tight ends/assistant head coach Jeff Banks knows the state extremely well and has been one of the best recruiters in the country. Banks has been at Texas since 2021 and previously coached at Alabama (2018-20), Texas A&M (2013-17) and UTEP (2004-12). Among Banks’ notable recent recruits was Jalen Milroe, the Alabama quarterback from Katy, Texas, which is just outside Houston.
Former TCU head coach Gary Patterson has been open about wanting to get back into college football. Could Houston be an option? Patterson was a legend at TCU, where he has a statue after compiling a 181-79 record, including seven top-10 finishes. He also regularly recruited the third-best classes in the Big 12 behind Texas and Oklahoma. But he posted a losing record in two of his last three seasons and wasn’t too interested in the NIL and transfer portal world. If he can show he’s ready to adapt to the times, perhaps he gets a look.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders isn’t expected to be a candidate for Texas A&M, but a job like Houston might be a good fit, and it would fit billionaire board chair Tilman Fertitta to take a swing. The word is that one reason Sanders wanted Colorado to rejoin the Big 12 was to get back into Texas for recruiting. Sanders, who still lives in Texas when he’s not coaching, improved Colorado to 4-8 this year, though the Buffs lost eight of their last nine games.
Liberty head coach Jamey Chadwell has won everywhere he’s been. He’s 43-6 over the last four seasons, with three seasons of at least 10 wins, including a 12-0 regular season at Liberty this year. His spread option offense turned Grayson McCall into one of the best quarterbacks in the country at Coastal Carolina, setting an FBS record for pass efficiency in 2021. Liberty quarterback Kaidon Salter is third nationally in pass efficiency and has 39 total touchdowns with five interceptions. The 46-year-old Tennessee native also seems destined for a bigger job, but his lack of Power 5 coaching experience has hurt his candidacy for other jobs.
Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein spent the previous eight years in Texas before going to Oregon this year. He’s a Broyles Award nominee for the nation’s top assistant coach, and quarterback Bo Nix is among the favorites for the Heisman Trophy, with 37 touchdown passes and just two interceptions. Before Oregon, Stein spent three years as a Texas quality control assistant, two years as a Lake Travis High School assistant and three years as a UTSA assistant. UTSA finished 14th nationally in scoring and went 11-3 with Stein as the offensive coordinator in 2022.
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USC offensive coordinator Josh Henson is an Oklahoma native who spent 2019 through 2021 as Texas A&M’s offensive line coach before going to USC. Behind Henson’s offensive line, USC finished 26th in yards per carry last year and sits 32nd this year. He also served as Missouri’s offensive coordinator from 2013 through 2015.
Former Virginia Tech and Memphis head coach Justin Fuente was in the mix for the UAB head coaching job last year and was at Indiana as an analyst this season. Fuente spent 2012 through 2015 at Memphis and turned it from one of the worst rosters in the country to 19 wins over his last two seasons. He was fired at Virginia Tech amid a 5-5 start in his fifth season, but he posted a 43-31 record overall.
Florida State offensive coordinator Alex Atkins continues to rise and has played an integral role in FSU’s turnaround and 12-0 start this season. Atkins inherited one of the worst offensive lines in the Power 5 at FSU and turned it into a very good group, and he added coordinator duties in 2022. Before FSU, he was Charlotte’s offensive coordinator in 2019, the only bowl season in program history.
(Photo: Leslie Plaza Johnson / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images))
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