It happened. Dana Holgorsen was fired on Sunday. It was the right move.
We can talk about records, competitiveness in games, recruiting rankings, Red Bull, and hot mic statements, but at the end of the day, the biggest reason why the move had to happen was he lost the fans.
the daily #121 | 11/29/2023 | Archives
The on-the-field product was simply not good enough. More often than not, there were questionable moments and extracurricular activities such as the “I can’t coach this s–t” in 2019 and the “we did a lot of stupid stuff once again, I ain’t taking responsibility for that” following the narrow win against Rice in 2022, and during the 2023 season when it came to the constant, “that’s Big 12 football,” after a loss.
Houston’s senior night had an announced attendance of 33,906, but the crowd was not close to that. Many of those in the crowd were wearing orange instead of Cougar red. Tickets were going as low as $1 for Cincinnati and Oklahoma State and $2 against West Virginia. That’s where the program found itself.
With the allure of the inaugural Big 12 schedule gone, a recruiting class ranked dead last in all of the Power Conference schools, and, well, yet another subpar season under his belt, it would have been a slap in the face to the fanbase to try and sell them on another year with Holgorsen at the helm.
Bringing Dana back would have resulted in a lot of lost revenue in terms of season tickets and donations.
To be fair, not all of it was bad. The 2021 season, whether it was a product of the strength of schedule or not, provided some incredible moments, such as Marcus Jones’ kickoff return touchdown game-winner over a ranked SMU team, an American Athletic Conference Championship game appearance, and back-to-back bowl wins. However, Birmingham and Shreveport were not close to New Year’s Six bowls.
But in totality, what Dana Holgorsen brought to Houston just wasn’t enough.
“The University of Houston is committed to a championship-caliber football program and ensuring the success of our student-athletes,” UH athletics director Chris Pezman said in a statement announcing Holgorsen’s firing on Sunday.
Championship-caliber. We’ve heard that before. It is the message the administration continues to push out. If we’re talking hot seats, Pezman’s might be next, depending on this hire. Get it right, and the Cougars are poised to be a legitimate threat. Get it wrong, and I’ll be writing a similar column in just a few years with a few more grey hairs.
I’m not just hyping up UH, either. The school has a legitimate chance to be a Big 12 powerhouse. Houston has never had a better chance at sustained success than with Texas and Oklahoma heading for the SEC and the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams.
Recruit locally and get your fair share of that talent. Be wise in the portal, steer NIL dollars to your players, market the program, and produce. Under Holgorsen, that just was not the case. He wasn’t interested.
The Houston Chronicle reported that UH is interested in UTSA’s Jeff Traylor, Tulane’s Willie Fritz, former TCU coach Gary Patterson, and Kliff Kingsbury.
I have Traylor and Fritz as 1A and 1B on my list. Why? Because both of them have done more with less at their respective programs. They both steer programs with a similar blue-collar culture, such as UH. They’re not flashy, but they have proven results.
If I had to pick only one, I’d give Fritz the edge over Taylor because of his sustained success with the Green Wave over the past two seasons and the three other places he’s done it (Central Missouri, Sam Houston State, Georgia Southern).
But it’s all about hiring the right person—the right fit. No pressure, UH administration. But you can’t screw this up.
