I know the news on Tom Herman's departure is still pretty fresh but there's already quite a bit of info in regards to Houston's shifting focus on replacing the departed Herman. There's a long list of potential candidates as well as a surprising big name coach that is expected to be at the top of Houston's list to replace Tom Herman.
Here's what we have so far.
The Big Names
Cougars Den has confirmed through multiple sources that West Virginia's Dana Holgerson is a hot candidate to replace Tom Herman and as of today is likely at the top of the list. It's a bit surprising that Houston has a legitimate shot to pluck away a coach from a top 25 P5 program, or is it?
Houston has already proven it will spend for a quality head coach when they were prepared to offer Tom Herman $5M to stay at Houston. Holgerson reportedly makes around $3M per year at West Virginia and according to multiple sources has expressed an open interest in the Houston job.
There is a good deal of traction on this one, as he has even given a list of coaches he would like to bring with him, we are still working on gathering some of the info pertaining to that but one name we heard as a lock to join Holgerson if he were to come to Houston is former Houston standout Tyron Carrier who is currently coaching the receivers at WVU.
I was told there were other coaches that would want to live in Houston that Holgerson has listed and we are working on gathering more information on those names as we speak.
Dan Mullen
Houston is also expected to reach out to current Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen who has also reportedly expressed interest in Houston according to sources.
Sources are telling me that Mullen is more of a long shot. He makes $4M per year at Mississippi State and could be using Houston to leverage himself for a raise in Starkville, though it has been said there is interest.
Current Staff
Both offensive coordinator Major Applewhite and defensive coordinator Todd Orlando who was recently named as Houston's interim head coach. Both have expressed interest in Houston's head coach position and will be considered for the opening. Orlando if he doesn't get recruited to Austin by Tom Herman who is allegedly going to go after former roomate and current defensive coordinator Dave Aranda pretty hard was listed as a potential candidate to stay at defensive coordinator depending on who Houston hired as head coach if he himself is not named as the permanent successor of Herman.
Other Potential Candidates
Don't have a lot of details on these particular candidates, these are just a few of the names that popped up during conversations throughout the day. Tulsa's head coach Phillip Montgomery was mentioned, SMU's Chad Morris' name came up late this evening, California's Sonny Dykes was listed as a potential target, Oklahoma's offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley was brought up in one or two conversations.
Outside the Box Candidates
There were a couple of outside the box names that popped up early this morning. Washington State's Mike Leach and former Baylor head coach Art Briles were listed as a potential targets as well.
Timeline
We haven't heard anything concrete from our contacts in regards to a timeline, though I suspect they would rather have this finished sooner rather than later. It's still very early in the process and a lot of these names were just speculation on potential targets from Houston contacts that were brought up throughout the day, though I'm told there is traction on Dana Holgerson and there is legitimate mutual interest. That situation will be interesting to keep an eye on. We'll try to get more information on that situation and any new news that comes out regarding potential candidates. This is just what we've got thus far. A lot of it I know was already out there, we were trying to get more details on the coaches listed by Holgerson as potential staffers if he were to indeed make the move back to Houston. We'll update you on what we hear as we have more.
Here's what we have so far.
The Big Names
Cougars Den has confirmed through multiple sources that West Virginia's Dana Holgerson is a hot candidate to replace Tom Herman and as of today is likely at the top of the list. It's a bit surprising that Houston has a legitimate shot to pluck away a coach from a top 25 P5 program, or is it?
Houston has already proven it will spend for a quality head coach when they were prepared to offer Tom Herman $5M to stay at Houston. Holgerson reportedly makes around $3M per year at West Virginia and according to multiple sources has expressed an open interest in the Houston job.
There is a good deal of traction on this one, as he has even given a list of coaches he would like to bring with him, we are still working on gathering some of the info pertaining to that but one name we heard as a lock to join Holgerson if he were to come to Houston is former Houston standout Tyron Carrier who is currently coaching the receivers at WVU.
I was told there were other coaches that would want to live in Houston that Holgerson has listed and we are working on gathering more information on those names as we speak.
Dan Mullen
Houston is also expected to reach out to current Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen who has also reportedly expressed interest in Houston according to sources.
Sources are telling me that Mullen is more of a long shot. He makes $4M per year at Mississippi State and could be using Houston to leverage himself for a raise in Starkville, though it has been said there is interest.
Current Staff
Both offensive coordinator Major Applewhite and defensive coordinator Todd Orlando who was recently named as Houston's interim head coach. Both have expressed interest in Houston's head coach position and will be considered for the opening. Orlando if he doesn't get recruited to Austin by Tom Herman who is allegedly going to go after former roomate and current defensive coordinator Dave Aranda pretty hard was listed as a potential candidate to stay at defensive coordinator depending on who Houston hired as head coach if he himself is not named as the permanent successor of Herman.
Other Potential Candidates
Don't have a lot of details on these particular candidates, these are just a few of the names that popped up during conversations throughout the day. Tulsa's head coach Phillip Montgomery was mentioned, SMU's Chad Morris' name came up late this evening, California's Sonny Dykes was listed as a potential target, Oklahoma's offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley was brought up in one or two conversations.
Outside the Box Candidates
There were a couple of outside the box names that popped up early this morning. Washington State's Mike Leach and former Baylor head coach Art Briles were listed as a potential targets as well.
Timeline
We haven't heard anything concrete from our contacts in regards to a timeline, though I suspect they would rather have this finished sooner rather than later. It's still very early in the process and a lot of these names were just speculation on potential targets from Houston contacts that were brought up throughout the day, though I'm told there is traction on Dana Holgerson and there is legitimate mutual interest. That situation will be interesting to keep an eye on. We'll try to get more information on that situation and any new news that comes out regarding potential candidates. This is just what we've got thus far. A lot of it I know was already out there, we were trying to get more details on the coaches listed by Holgerson as potential staffers if he were to indeed make the move back to Houston. We'll update you on what we hear as we have more.
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