The coaching carousel gets interesting

[Schoonerman]

Mark Richt steps down at Miami after only three years. His DC, Manny Diaz, was tabbed as Temple's new coach, but he announced he's turning down the Temple job to stay in Miami and replace Richt. I'm sure the Temple AD is mighty pissed this morning after inking the deal with Diaz, only to have it thrown back in his face! His search for a new football coach restarts.

Major Applewhite is shown the door at Houston after and 8-5 season and the blowout loss to Army. His OC, Kendal Briles was fired following the loss, but is hired by Willie Taggart at Florida State as their new OC. Read an article last night that says Houston ants to hire WVU's Dana Holgorsen as their new HC. Article went on to say UH will do just about anything to get admitted into the Big 12.

 

[Oklabama]

Mark Richt steps down at Miami after only three years. His DC, Manny Diaz, was tabbed as Temple's new coach, but he announced he's turning down the Temple job to stay in Miami and replace Richt. I'm sure the Temple AD is mighty pissed this morning after inking the deal with Diaz, only to have it thrown back in his face! His search for a new football coach restarts.

Major Applewhite is shown the door at Houston after and 8-5 season and the blowout loss to Army. His OC, Kendal Briles was fired following the loss, but is hired by Willie Taggart at Florida State as their new OC. Read an article last night that says Houston ants to hire WVU's Dana Holgorsen as their new HC. Article went on to say UH will do just about anything to get admitted into the Big 12.

Wow, a lot of interesting stuff. Do you think Dana would leave WVU for Houston? Maybe if the WVC cupboard is sparse.

 

[Goldentot]

Mark Richt steps down at Miami after only three years. His DC, Manny Diaz, was tabbed as Temple's new coach, but he announced he's turning down the Temple job to stay in Miami and replace Richt. I'm sure the Temple AD is mighty pissed this morning after inking the deal with Diaz, only to have it thrown back in his face! His search for a new football coach restarts.

Major Applewhite is shown the door at Houston after and 8-5 season and the blowout loss to Army. His OC, Kendal Briles was fired following the loss, but is hired by Willie Taggart at Florida State as their new OC. Read an article last night that says Houston ants to hire WVU's Dana Holgorsen as their new HC. Article went on to say UH will do just about anything to get admitted into the Big 12.

I wonder if any of the firing in the NFL would leave good options for candidates as OU’s defensive coordinator? Once a coach is fired their staff positions often times open up as well. Their ought to be some really good candidates floating around looking for a great job and some bank.

 

[thatdude35]

Dana Holgerson wouldn’t leave WVU to go to Houston. That’s a step down.

 

[kcstorm06]

Wow, a lot of interesting stuff. Do you think Dana would leave WVU for Houston? Maybe if the WVC cupboard is sparse.

Yes this was a turning point in the WVU program. They lose a bunch to graduation and NFL. They will be greatly diminished on both sides of the ball next year, and Holgerson knows it.

 

[WP76]

Dana Holgerson wouldn’t leave WVU to go to Houston. That’s a step down.

Agree. West Virginia has a loyal, borderline rabid, statewide fanbase albeit in a relatively small population state. It's also in a P5 conference. Houston is a G5 program and is a commuter school with a largely indifferent fanbase in a state with a multitude of major universities. You never know, but I just don't see the logic of an established head coach leaving the Mountaineers job to take the one at UH.

 

[Oklabama]

Agree. West Virginia has a loyal, borderline rabid, statewide fanbase albeit in a relatively small population state. It's also in a P5 conference. Houston is a G5 program and is a commuter school with a largely indifferent fanbase in a state with a multitude of major universities. You never know, but I just don't see the logic of an established head coach leaving the Mountaineers job to take the one at UH.

And that’s the knock on allowing Houston to join the B12. Only thing is when they got into the SW Conference they won a title within a relatively quick time. Lol. But adding another school to the B12 that plays to a small empty stadium kinda sucks. No, not kinda, it sucks.

 

[Sunburnt Indian]

KXXV TV in Waco says UH has axed WVU for permission to talk to Holgerson. Word around here is many WVU people are dismayed with Holgerson's inability to win a Big 12 title. Houston does indeed want to join the Big 12 and has spent big bucks upgrading facilities. Some Texas state legislators would like to see Houston a part.

 

[OUSOONER67]

I could see Holgerson go if and only if WVU is looking for a change at HC. I am not sure what his current contract is or what any potential buyout would be. I agree Houston is a step down so unless he knows he is on the way out at WVU I don't see it happening but you never know, maybe Holgerson is not happy where he is.

 

[Salt City Sooner]

Dana Holgerson wouldn’t leave WVU to go to Houston. That’s a step down.

Wanna bet?

https://www.smokingmusket.com/2019/...-houston-cougars-head-coach-coaching-carousel

 

[OUSOONER67]

Wanna bet?

https://www.smokingmusket.com/2019/...-houston-cougars-head-coach-coaching-carousel

Never say never. Makes me think he got out before he was let go by WVU. Speculation on my end tho.

 

[td71sooner]

Shocked. Must have seen the writing on the wall.

 

[Soonerborn59]

Well of all the places he would go I was surprised to see he did indeed take the Houston job. With so many other P5 jobs opened this really shocks me. At least we know OU will face a familiar HC in the opener next year.

 

[Scottsdale.Sooner]

Dana Holgerson wouldn’t leave WVU to go to Houston. That’s a step down.

He just left WVU for Houston. I was not aware but I am told that Holgerson and the WVU admin have not seen eye to eye for some time now. BTW: Sometimes it's necessary to step down in order to find that ladder that goes higher up.

 

[22LR]

Outside of his weird antics at Okie State, I never had much of an opinion about Holgerson until he called that 2-point conversion against Texas to win the game in Austin. That was one of my favorite plays of the 2018 season. When I went over to their board to read about it, I was surprised how much the WV fans disliked the guy. I don't know what they are looking for in a HC, but I think they just let a pretty good one get away. I wish him well at Houston.

 

[Rush2112Sooner]

This situation reminds me of when Billy Tubbs left OU for TCU. Was shocking at the time.

I know I've seen the interviews years after, but didn't Billy say he was just burnt out when TCU called to get permission to talk to an assistant coach, and Billy said, "hey, I'm interested in taking it." much to the shocked delight of TCU.

 

[CTOkie]

Wow, a lot of interesting stuff. Do you think Dana would leave WVU for Houston? Maybe if the WVC cupboard is sparse.

I think Houston is a dead end job and while I want the program to be an elite one, representing the nation's 4th largest city (and a place I've lived in for 21 years) I think West Virginia has more to offer long term. Holgorsen's hiring (which now is happening) is a curious move on his part to me. I hope he does well.
Houston being in the state of Texas (and in the Houston area especially) should be a huge plus, but it's reputation as "Cougar High" and it's location south of the city don't seem to help as far as gaining consistent national recognition.
On top of that, Houston is now the most culturally diverse city in the country outside of California, even more so than NYC or Chicago, and this seems to take interest away from hometown college football. Most Houston CFB fans are UT, ATM, Baylor, TCU, Texas Tech and LSU followers and I know OU has a huge fan base there as will.
Rice is now a dwarf program, playing in what once was a great Rice Stadium holding over 70,000 (now holding 47,000) and Houston plays in a 40,000 seat restored Robertson Stadium (now TDECU Stadium). Jess Neely's and Bill Yeoman's eras are ancient history.
Big urban areas, outside of Los Angeles perhaps (USC-UCLA), don't offer good places to build and maintain an elite football program. Houston now falls into that category.
I wish Holgorsen the best of luck.
Now I'm curious about what West Virginia does.

 

[SoonerMikee05]

He just left WVU for Houston. I was not aware but I am told that Holgerson and the WVU admin have not seen eye to eye for some time now. BTW: Sometimes it's necessary to step down in order to find that ladder that goes higher up.

Unrealistic expectations kind of like Gundy at OSU. And Holgerson seems to be the kind of guy that will say whats on his mind no matter if they like it or not.

 

[coeSooner81]

He will be the highest paid G5 coach, maybe that is what is wants, an ego thing. He has coached there before, maybe he felt at home there and that was his dream job all along. He cant/didnt win in the big 12 so maybe hes thinking he can go to Houston and win a CC there.

 

[Oklabama]

I think Houston is a dead end job and while I want the program to be an elite one, representing the nation's 4th largest city (and a place I've lived in for 21 years) I think West Virginia has more to offer long term. Holgorsen's hiring (which now is happening) is a curious move on his part to me. I hope he does well.
Houston being in the state of Texas (and in the Houston area especially) should be a huge plus, but it's reputation as "Cougar High" and it's location south of the city don't seem to help as far as gaining consistent national recognition.
On top of that, Houston is now the most culturally diverse city in the country outside of California, even more so than NYC or Chicago, and this seems to take interest away from hometown college football. Most Houston CFB fans are UT, ATM, Baylor, TCU, Texas Tech and LSU followers and I know OU has a huge fan base there as will.
Rice is now a dwarf program, playing in what once was a great Rice Stadium holding over 70,000 (now holding 47,000) and Houston plays in a 40,000 seat restored Robertson Stadium (now TDECU Stadium). Jess Neely's and Bill Yeoman's eras are ancient history.
Big urban areas, outside of Los Angeles perhaps (USC-UCLA), don't offer good places to build and maintain an elite football program. Houston now falls into that category.
I wish Holgorsen the best of luck.
Now I'm curious about what West Virginia does.

Don’t take this wrong, I’m not laughing at you, but to think about doing anything that pays $4m a year as a dead end job sounds pretty funny. Maybe from a professional point of view but not from a financial standpoint.

 

[CTOkie]

Don’t take this wrong, I’m not laughing at you, but to think about doing anything that pays $4m a year as a dead end job sounds pretty funny. Maybe from a professional point of view but not from a financial standpoint.

No offense taken at all.
The $4 million per year for Holgorsen smacks of a program like Houston having a desperate desire to join the ranks of the perennial top ten teams.
My hope is that it happens soon. I would like Houston to be consistently good enough to be able to join a name brand conference. I'm all in for that to happen.

 

[thatdude35]

He just left WVU for Houston. I was not aware but I am told that Holgerson and the WVU admin have not seen eye to eye for some time now. BTW: Sometimes it's necessary to step down in order to find that ladder that goes higher up.

That was weird. Guess he knows the conference is bad. We need to leave it.

 

[WhyNotaSooner]

And that’s the knock on allowing Houston to join the B12. Only thing is when they got into the SW Conference they won a title within a relatively quick time. Lol. But adding another school to the B12 that plays to a small empty stadium kinda sucks. No, not kinda, it sucks.

They won the first year. Actually 3 of the first 4 years they were added. Montana beat them in the Cotton Bowl known as the Ice Bowl Jsn1st,’79

 

[WhyNotaSooner]

Houston is by far a deadend job. With the right HC, that place can soar. The recruiting ground is extremely fertile.

Holgerson > Applewhite

UH got a Major upgrade. No pun intended. The last I looked they throttled us. Just saying

 

[Rush2112Sooner]

Houston is by far a deadend job. With the right HC, that place can soar. The recruiting ground is extremely fertile.

Holgerson > Applewhite

UH got a Major upgrade. No pun intended. The last I looked they throttled us. Just saying

One downside is Houston's attendance is not good though. 2017 numbers show they only barely beat out Kansas in our conference. All other Big XII schools are far ahead of Houston. All those residents of US's 4th largest city, but apparently not many are going to UH games.

http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/Attendance/2017.pdf

 

[kcstorm06]

Not sure Houston Cougs are ready for prime time. About on par with Baylor. Why would we want another Baylor ugghhhh?

 

[Oklabama]

Not sure Houston Cougs are ready for prime time. About on par with Baylor. Why would we want another Baylor ugghhhh?

Baylor may be on it’s way back. The new coach is doing a pretty good job especially with all the trouble he has had to overcome. TCU ain’t looking all that good though. Iowa State will lose it’s coach and revert back. Kansas. Well, Kansas will probably continue to be Kansas even with a good coach. WVU needs to hire back Rich Rod. KSU and OSU will be up and down. Tech. ?? It’s going to get back to OU - Texas. That’s my 2019 - 2021 forecast.

 

[Schoonerman]

I say Venables to WVU just to get a rumor started.

But seriously, WVU might be a good place for an up-and-coming OC or DC to get their first shot at being a head coach. I think it would be a much better gig than at UH, Temple or any number of schools that may have vacancies soon (except for Ohio State).

 

[Jeremiahxyz]

For those of you that are wishing Houston gets into the Big 12, it ain't gonna
happen. The only Texas school that's got any chance getting in is TA&M and
we all know they ain't coming. All of the non Texas schools in the Big 12 will
vote against expansion of another Texas school.

 

[WhyNotaSooner]

For those of you that are wishing Houston gets into the Big 12, it ain't gonna
happen. The only Texas school that's got any chance getting in is TA&M and
we all know they ain't coming. All of the non Texas schools in the Big 12 will
vote against expansion of another Texas school.

Then the Big12 will die a slow ugly death much like that of the Pac12. By allowing A&M to leave, it allowed the SEC recruiting teams to come into Texas in a big way. Have you ever noticed how a lot of SEC games are played in Arlington @ AT&T stadium? It isn’t a coincidence.

 

[Deweygolfer]

Dana Holgerson wouldn’t leave WVU to go to Houston. That’s a step down.

Why wouldn't he? He can avoid OU and UT every year. WVU will never be in a position to compete with them constantly year in and year out.

 

[humblesooner]

Why wouldn't he? He can avoid OU and UT every year. WVU will never be in a position to compete with them constantly year in and year out.

In case you missed it, he did.

 

[veritas59]

In case you missed it, he did.

so what are you trying to say???????????

 

[OUSOONER67]

Wonder if WVU is looking at Josh Heupel? Or if he would have any interest returning to the Big12?

 

[2300 Nueces]

It appears some schools are positioning for a large movement in the college football landscape.

 

[oufrog]

Kendal Briles wasn't fired, he resigned. He already had the fsu job, which is why he was announced almost immediately as fsu's new oc.

Holgorsen is one of the most overrated coaches in football. His behavior on the sidelines is atrocious and he says the dumbest things in press conferences after a loss. Houston "upgraded" from a coach with a 57% win percentage to a coach with a 59% win percentage. Holgorsen is going from a medium fish in a large pond to a big fish in a small pond. If that's how he wants to roll, good for him.

I don't see the Big 12 adding Houston. They don't improve the conference. They bring nothing to the table we don't already have. The SWC folded for a reason, and making the Big 12 into the SWC 2.0 is a recipe for failure.

The Big 12 at 10 members is sitting well. We can negotiate an overall lower cost tv contract but with higher per team payouts. Would be dumb to add a dollar suck like houston into the fold.

 

[CTOkie]

The Big 12 has only two ways to go.
Stay at 10 teams or dissolve and be absorbed into other conferences.
Adding two teams of notoriety is not happening. That ship sailed long ago.
As much as I love college football, I hate the way the conferences have been altered and the Big 12 is the poster child for realignment insanity, with the exits of ATM and Nebraska. (I do not believe Nebraska would be in such dire straits had it stayed in the Big 12 and I doubt if any Nebraska fans would argue that point). Gone are the rivalries of OU-Nebraska and ATM vs Texas. Those are huge losses for CFB.
I prefer that conferences retain some degree of geographical integrity, but since there's little awareness of geography (or history) nowadays, that's the way it goes.

 

[SoonerMikee05]

The Big 12 has only two ways to go.
Stay at 10 teams or dissolve and be absorbed into other conferences.
Adding two teams of notoriety is not happening. That ship sailed long ago.
As much as I love college football, I hate the way the conferences have been altered and the Big 12 is the poster child for realignment insanity, with the exits of ATM and Nebraska. (I do not believe Nebraska would be in such dire straits had it stayed in the Big 12 and I doubt if any Nebraska fans would argue that point). Gone are the rivalries of OU-Nebraska and ATM vs Texas. Those are huge losses for CFB.
I prefer that conferences retain some degree of geographical integrity, but since there's little awareness of geography (or history) nowadays, that's the way it goes.

Agree, I really miss our rivalry with Nebraska. With that said, I’m not sure adding Houston and UCF would be a bad idea. We’d be playing every other year in 2 huge recruiting areas.

 

[CTOkie]

Agree, I really miss our rivalry with Nebraska. With that said, I’m not sure adding Houston and UCF would be a bad idea. We’d be playing every other year in 2 huge recruiting areas.

Houston would have to get back to its 2016 level and maintain it, and you're right, OU would play in both of the state of Texas' biggest recruiting turfs.....the Metroplex (DFW) and the Houston area as well as the Beaumont-Orange corridor.

 

[thatdude35]

Troy’s Neal is a good coach. WVU has a good one.