Houston officially announced on Sunday that head football coach Major Applewhite has been fired after two seasons with the team, and the school appears to be intent on making a big splash to replace him.
Brett McMurphy of Stadium reports that two of the leading candidates to replace Applewhite are Dana Holgorsen and Kliff Kingsbury.
Major Applewhite has been fired at Houston, source told @WatchStadium. 1st reported by @38Godfrey. Top candidates include Dana Holgorsen & Kliff Kingsbury, source said
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) December 30, 2018
Houston was linked to Holgorsen before Applewhite was officially fired, with a report indicating the Cougars are keeping their eye on the West Virginia coach and believe he could consider leaving his current job. Holgorsen’s buyout drops to $1 million in the new year, and he is losing two of his top players in Will Grier and David Sills. The Mountaineers coach was also an offensive coordinator with Houston previously.
Kingsbury would likely be another popular hire, and the expectation is that he will eventually land another head coaching job after he signed on to join USC’s staff as an assistant. The 39-year-old was fired by Texas Tech last month after six years with the program, and he has been linked to both NFL and college coaching jobs.
