Report: Houston fires head coach Dana Holgorsen after five seasons

Houston fired head coach football coach Dana Holgorsen after five seasons, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. The news was first reported by Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle.

Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported Holgorsen’s buyout was roughly $15 million. Holgorsen resigned from West Virginia after 2018 to coach the Cougars.

In five years, he went 31-28, including a 12-2 season in 2021. However, seasons of 8-5 and 4-8 the last two years ultimately led to the end of his tenure.

“Top UH officials met late Saturday night to discuss Holgorsen’s future, just hours after the Cougars’ 27-13 season-ending loss to UCF wrapped a third losing season in the last five years, a source with knowledge of the situation said,” Duarte wrote. “UH officials were not immediately available for comment.”

As far as who could be next, there are some interesting names on the list, per Duarte.

“Sources said UTSA’s Jeff Traylor, Tulane coach Willie Fritz, former TCU coach Gary Patterson and former Texas Tech and Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury are among the top candidates,” Duarte wrote.

Holgorsen’s head coaching career got off to a great start at WVU in 2011. That season, he led the Mountaineers to a Big East title in the final year of the program’s tenure within the conference.

They won the Orange Bowl to end the year.

From 2012-18, Holgorsen coached West Virginia in the Big 12 Conference, making a bowl game each season except 2013. He went 1-5 in postseason games and did not win the conference.

Once he moved to Houston, there were big expectations. However, Holgorsen went 7-13 in his first two seasons before the breakthrough 2021 campaign.

He went 2-1 in postseason games as Cougars’ head coach, but the 2023 season was the final straw and the administration elected to make a change after Houston’s first year in the Big 12.