UH fires Applewhite
Late-season slide, embarrassing bowl loss prompt administration to move in new direction
The University of Houston fires head football coach Major Applewhite after just two seasons and only eight days after an embarrassing loss in the Armed Forces Bowl.
At the time, it seemed like the perfect match.
A first-time head coach familiar with the University of Houston football program who many believed would offer a reprieve from the endless cycle of coaches to use the job as a steppingstone for grander ambitions.
The feeling was mutual, even when some of the declarations and expectations by school administrators were not.
Two years later, and sooner than anybody could have predicted, UH is in search of yet another coach.
Major Applewhite was fired Sunday, just eight days after an embarrassing 70-14 loss to Army in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl punctuated a second straight disappointing season.
In two-plus seasons, Applewhite went 15-11 with three bowl losses. His final season was marked by a rash of injuries to key players and a defense that, statistically, ranked as the worst in school history.
“After a thorough evaluation of our football program, it is my assessment our future opportunities for success are better addressed by making this very difficult decision now,” UH vice president for athletics Chris Pezman said in a statement.
After days of speculation about his future, Applewhite was informed of the decision in a meeting Sunday morning at the Athletics-Alumni Center. As part of Applewhite’s buyout, the school will owe him $1.95 million for the final three years of his contract.
A national search for the 15th head coach in program history — and fourth in the last six seasons — has already begun.
“While the immediate future may be challenging, our future at UH is very bright,” Pezman said in the statement. “We’ve made many sizable improvements over the past five years, and I look forward to enhancing our future success through the hiring of our next head coach. At this time, we have already begun the search process for our next head coach and will not comment further until the search is concluded.”
Pezman was not available for further comment.
Holgorsen atop wish list
The top target is expected to be West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen, a person familiar with UH’s thinking said.
For a school that had grown acAfter customed to head coaches leaving for Power Five jobs in the past 15 years — among them Art Briles (Baylor), Kevin Sumlin (Texas A&M) and Tom Herman (Texas) — UH officials took the extraordinary steps to scrap plans and begin anew after only two seasons under Applewhite.
It was a stunning reversal in less than two months as UH went from 7-1, No. 17 in the national polls and a two-game lead in the American Athletic Conference West Division to four losses in the final five games. UH allowed 507 rushing yards in a 56-point loss to Army on Dec. 22, matching the worst bowl loss in Football Bowl Subdivision history, that sparked uncertainty about Applewhite’s future. Even after the game there were those in Applewhite’s camp who believed he might get a third year to turn around the program.
After the season, UH president Renu Khator said the school would “review and evaluate the program.” Pezman offered a noncommittal statement on Applewhite’s future. In the days that followed, the embarrassment of the bowl loss, resignation of offensive coordinator Kendal Briles to take the same position at Florida State and a growing dissent among the fan base led to the decision for a fresh start.
being named head coach in 2016, Applewhite was unable to sustain the momentum UH built during a two-year run under Herman, who led the team to a 13-1 record, AAC title and New Year’s Six bowl win in his first season and went 22-4 overall.
Applewhite made questionable coordinator hires, parting ways with offensive coordinator Brian Johnson after one season after the Cougars struggled to one of the least productive years in a decade; and defensive coordinator Mark D’Onofrio was fired at the end of the regular season as the unit ranked among the nation’s worst in several categories and set school single-season records for points allowed (483) and total yards (6,454). There was also the backlash over the hiring of Briles and run-game coordinator/offensive line coach Randy Clements, former members on the Baylor staff during a sexual-assault scandal that rocked the school.
On the field, Applewhite received criticism for roster mismanagement, using three quarterbacks in 2017 before naming D’Eriq King the starter late in the season. King was responsible for a nation-best 50 touchdowns this season until a knee injury sidelined him the final two games and forced the Cougars to use true freshman Clayton Tune on the final weekend of the regular season against Memphis for a spot in the AAC championship game.
There was also the Nov. 15 sideline incident with All-America defensive tackle Ed Oliver, who had to be restrained after being told by Applewhite to take off a jack reserved for active players. Oliver, widely projected as a top-10 pick in the NFL draft, missed most of the final five games with a knee injury.
All the while, UH power brokers did not hold back about expectations for the program. Shortly after Applewhite was hired, Khator told a group of supporters at a holiday party “winning is defined at the University of Houston as 10 and 2. We’ll fire coaches at 8 and 4.” Tilman Fertitta, the board of regents chairman, added: “I think you can look forward to Major being here for many years. But he better win 9, 10, 11 games a year, too, from our standpoint.”
‘Frustrating’ day for players
With UH players off campus for the semester break, many learned of Applewhite’s firing through social media. A message from Pezman was relayed through a football staffer on a group text message.
“We know how coach Applewhite feels about us, and we know how dedicated he was to us,” senior center Will Noble said. “We know he wanted to be here. It sucks the way it all worked out.”
A person familiar with the players’ reactions described it as “frustrating and disappointing.”
“I’m not too happy about it, honestly,” King said. “Man, I love him to death. I don’t think it’s fair at all. Many guys are upset.”
King said the Cougars’ poor finish should not have been held against Applewhite.
“We had a lot of bad luck this year,” he said. “That’s what people don’t get. Fans who want to criticize him, don’t seem to get that the starting quarterback was hurt, seven defensive starters and guys who played a lot were out. It’s hard to win with that many injuries.”
Even with recent struggles, the UH job is still considered among the better jobs among Group of Five schools. Holgorsen, who was offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at UH in 2008-09, was among the candidates the last time to job was open, still maintains a house in Houston and is close with Fertitta. Should Holgorsen leave Morgantown, W.Va., where he is 61-41 with seven bowl appearances in eight seasons, his buyout drops from $2.5 million to $1 million Tuesday.
Other potential candidates include Texas defensive coordinator Todd Orlando, Southern California offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, Florida Atlantic head coach Lane Kiffin and Troy head coach Neal Brown.