Former Houston Cougars Coach Returns After Controversial Exit

With the 2015 Peach Bowl team celebrating its 10-year anniversary this weekend, the Houston Cougars will welcome back their former coach despite a messy departure.

Sep 29, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Cougars head coach Tom Herman walks onto the field during the first quarter against the Connecticut Huskies at TDECU Stadium. The Cougars won 42-14. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Houston Cougars have enjoyed a fair amount of success over the years, but nothing this century compares to the high they reached in 2015.

That year, the Cougars finished an astounding 13-1, marking just the second time in school history they won 13 games in a season. They ran through nearly everyone in the American Conference, with their only loss being a three-point defeat against UConn, and earned an invitation to the Peach Bowl as the highest-ranked Group of Five champion. There, they upset Florida State 38-24 in a dominant performance to finish as the No. 8 team in the AP Poll, their highest finish since 1979.

Of course, this year marks the 10-year anniversary of that outstanding season, and the Cougars will rightfully honor the 2015 team during Saturday's game against West Virginia. That means welcoming back a somewhat controversial figure: former head coach Tom Herman.

Tom Herman Returns for 2015 Houston Cougars Reunion

Dec 31, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Houston Cougars head coach Tom Herman (C) poses with his players for a photo after defeating the Florida State Seminoles 38-24 during the 2015 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-Imagn Images | Jason Getz-Imagn Images

Herman enjoyed plenty of success in Houston, guiding the Cougars to a 22-4 record over his two seasons at the helm. However, the way he left the team rubbed some the wrong way. Immediately after the final game of the 2016 regular season, a 48-44 road loss to Memphis, Herman departed to become the head coach at Texas on a contract worth $5 million per year.

With Saturday marking Herman's return to Houston, some fans may not give him the warmest welcome back. However, current head coach Willie Fritz encouraged fans to just enjoy the ceremony rather than focusing on the circumstances of Herman's departure.

"We are having the 10 year anniversary of the Peach Bowl champions and they're going to be honored at the game as well," Fritz told reporters Monday. "I talked to Coach Herman last week and he's coming. I think most of the team's coming. They got a really good turnout that's coming and I think it's neat to have all those guys back. They're a big part of the history of U of H Cougar football.

"I remember watching the game, I went back and was at the Peach Bowl this last year and everybody that I talked to associated with the Peach Bowl talked about that game. It was probably 20/30 people that when I saw them, they talked about 2015 and U of H coming in there and getting after Florida State and all those kind of things. That's one of the biggest wins in school history so that's another reason to come out to the game. Honor those guys."

The Cougars are in the Big 12 with the big boys now, but without Herman leading them to that Peach Bowl victory, who knows where they might be now?