Houston Hires Dana Holgorsen as New Head Coach
Houston has hired Dana Holgorsen as its new head coach, the University announced Wednesday. While the Cougars did not reveal details of Holgorsen's contract, SB Nation reports that Houston offered Holgorsen a five-year, $20 million deal.
Holgorsen joins the Cougars after spending eight seasons as the head coach at West Virginia. This season, he led the Mountaineers to an 8–4 record before falling to Syracuse 34–18 in the Camping World Bowl.
The Moutaineers went 61–41 during Holgorsen's eight seasons. Most coaches wouldn't leave a job at a Power 5 school for a Group of 5 job, but Holgorsen has strong Texas ties.
Holgorsen worked at Texas Tech from 2000-2007 before joining Houston as its offensive coordinator in 2008 and 2009. He then spent one season at Oklahoma State before being hired as West Virginia's head coach.
Houston fired head coach Major Applewhite on Dec. 30 after two seasons at the helm. The Cougars went 15–11 under Applewhite, who was first hired as Houston's offensive coordinator in 2015.
