Thoughts on Houston Hiring Dana Holgorson and Luke Fickell to West Virginia Rumors
Dana Holgerson was named the head coach at Houston on New Year’s Day. Holgorson really first made a name for himself at Houston as the offensive coordinator. A lot of people were upset that Houston tried to go after a Power 5 coach, but Houston is a better job in just about every category except for the ability to make it to the college football playoff. Throw in 20 million dollars, ties to the university, and the CFP probably expanding soon, Holgerson made the decision to leave West Virginia.
Houston is cleary not a normal G5 school. I think it would be unfair to most teams in the American to compare them to MAC and Sun Belt schools. Houston ponied up the money to pay Holgorson and he came, if you have a problem with it, don’t blame the school. I think UCF and Cincinnati could also throw some major cash at a coach if they wanted to.
As for the hire itself, I thought it was too good for Houston not to pull the trigger considering the success they had under him in 2008-09. Holgorson was what majority of the fan base wanted as well so it's a pretty solid hire all around and it showed the college football universe that Houston is more than just another "G5" school.
Multiple outlets were reporting that West Virginia was eying Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell as their next head football coach. Fickell has been immensely successful in recruiting his 2 two years in Cincy. However, I just don’t see Fickell leaving. He has said multiple times that he doesn’t want to leave the state of Ohio. That’s why he was Ohio State’s defensive coordinator for so long. He turned down many jobs before becoming the head coach at Cincinnati, and he has also turned down jobs from Power 5 programs following his latest season. If Fickell ever leaves Cincinnati, it will be for a powerhouse job, not some typical Big 12 school. Reports are also indicating that Troy's Neal Brown is another option. Fickell has only been at Cincinnati for two years, and he has only had one good season. With the recruits he has signed, Cincinnati will be a major player in the AAC for the next couple of years.
