This One Thing Almost Kept Kelvin Sampson From Taking the Houston Job
As the No. 2 seed in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament, the Houston Cougars will be facing the No. 15 seed Idaho Vandals on Thursday.
Head coach Kelvin Sampson has awakened the program since taking over 2014-15, as being one of the best teams in the country and a top seed in the tournament is now an expectation rather than a goal. In his 12 years on the job, Sampson has compiled a 327-90 record while also leading the Cougars to a top-two seed in four of the past five NCAA Tournaments.
As the program looks to win its first title in basketball, Sampson revealed on a recent episode of "Fearless" with Jason Whitlock, that there was actually a world where he never took the Houston job.
Kelvin Sampson reveals why he almost didn't take the Houston Cougars job
Despite there being such a negative stigma around nepotism these days, Sampson was adamant that the program needed to allow him to hire both his son and daughter to his staff.
"I asked them (Houston) about their nepotism law, they said we do have a nepotism law in the state (Texas)," Sampson said. "I said well if I can't hire Kellen and Lauren...If I can get them together we knew how to build a program..."When Houston offered me the job, I said, you’ve got to find a way to get around this nepotism thing because if I can’t hire my son and my daughter, then I don’t think it’ll work."
“When Houston offered me the job, I said, you’ve got to find a way to get around this nepotism thing because if I can’t hire my son and my daughter, then I don’t think it’ll work.” - Houston head coach, Kelvin Sampson, on the importance of his children to his staff. pic.twitter.com/p1Jxc7rvMu
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) March 16, 2026
Kellen, 40, has been on staff throughout the journey and is a full-time assistant coach. As for his daughter, she is the Chief of Staff for the basketball program.
It's hard to imagine a world where Sampson didn't turn Houston into a powerhouse, but clearly, his family being a part of the deal was a must for him. It's unclear when the 70-year-old will call it quits as a head coach, but it does cause one to wonder if he will look to pull off a passing of the torch like Auburn's Bruce Pearl did for his son, Steve Pearl.
While that's presumably a discussion for a different day, the Cougs are focused on bouncing back from their Big 12 Tournament Final loss to Arizona.
They will take the floor at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on Thursday at 10:10 p.m. to take on a Vandals squad that won the Big Sky as the No. 7 seed. Houston won't take any opponent lightly, but it's hard to imagine they aren't chomping at the bit to beat someone up.
