Houston hires Ohio State's Herman to be head coach

HOUSTON (AP) Houston is negotiating with Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman to be its new head coach, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

The person spoke Monday on condition of anonymity because a deal hadn't been completed.

Houston fired coach Tony Levine last week.

Fox Sports first reported Herman was expected to be Houston's next coach.

The 39-year-old Herman, a Cincinnati native, spent the first 10 years of his career coaching in the state of Texas before becoming offensive coordinator at Iowa State (2009-11).

He has been quarterbacks coach and play-caller for Ohio State teams that have gone 36-3 the past three seasons. The Buckeyes rank fifth in the nation in yards per play this season and finished fifth in yards per play last season.

Fourth-seeded Ohio State plays No. 1 Alabama on Jan. 1 in the College Football Playoff.

Under Herman, Buckeyes quarterback Braxton Miller was Big Ten player of the year in 2012 and `13. Redshirt freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett stepped in this season after Miller was injured in the preseason, and Herman helped developed him into Heisman Trophy contender. Barrett set a conference record for touchdowns responsible for this season before going down with a season-ending injury against Michigan.

The next week Ohio State won the Big Ten championship game and locked up a playoff spot with a 59-0 victory against Wisconsin with backup quarterback Cardale Jones leading the offense.

Last week, Herman won the Broyles Award as the top assistant coach in college football.

The Cougars were 21-17 under Levine, including bowl appearances the past two seasons. They finished 7-5 this season and will play in the Armed Forces Bowl against Pittsburgh at Fort Worth, Texas.

But with a new on-campus stadium and a roster that seemed to be one of the most talented in the American Athletic Conference, more was expected from the Cougars.