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Many were surprised when the University of Houston fired head coach Dana Holgorsen following the season. But, the school has hit a home run with their hire to replace him in Tulane’s Willie Fritz.
The news is being reported by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, an institution in the state of Texas.
Fritz has done a sensational job at Tulane, who has gone 23-3 in the past two seasons heading into their AAC Championship Game clash against SMU today.
Tulane is one of the most difficult jobs in the nation due to academic requirements that significantly limit their recruiting pool, especially as a G5. But, Fritz, 63, did a sensational job at Tulane after coming over from Georgia Southern following the 2014-2015 season. Tulane not only won the AAC last year, but also beat USC in the Cotton Bowl in a huge upset. And, their only loss so far this year is to a 2-loss SEC team in Ole Miss in a competitive game early in the season.
As for Houston, this is a job with maybe more potential than any other in the Big 12, as Texas and Oklahoma are moving on to the SEC. The Houston area puts out so much talent, both top-end and depth-wise. Yes, it is probably unrealistic to expect the Cougars, who went 3-9 this year after a 12-win season last year, to land the absolute best players in the Houston metro. But, even the tier two players in that area are plenty good enough to routinely be the most talented team in the Big 12 going forward. And, when some of those top players that head off to other schools enter the transfer portal, Houston could be a very attractive destination.
It’s unclear if Fritz will coach Tulane in their bowl game, wherever that may be.