The Houston Cougars made waves across the college football ecosystem this week, moving on from fifth-year head coach Dana Holgorsen after a disappointing first year in the Big 12. Holgorsen, who went 31-28 during his half-decade run with the school, sputtered his way through a 4-8 campaign with the Cougars this fall as UH struggled to get their feet under them in their new conference.
Holgorsen’s 52.5% win percentage fell well short of his immediate predecessors, with Major Applewhite (57.7%), Tom Herman (84.6%), Tony Levine (55.3%), Kevin Sumlin (67.3%) and Art Briles (54.8%) all posting higher figures than the now former Cougars coach. While the CFB coaching carousel has barely started spinning, we can assume that Houston will want to get their next head coach sorted out as soon as possible, with more and more schools bound to fire their coaches before the year wraps up.
With that in mind, BetTexas.com can't help but think from a Texas sports betting standpoint and broke down the odds on which candidates stand the best chance of replacing Holgorsen at Houston, taking over a program that’s rich in recent tradition with deep pockets to contend in the Big 12 going forward.
Houston Cougars Next Football Head Coach Odds
Below are some odds you could see in the future on Texas betting apps. Here are our odds for the Houston Cougars' next Head Coach.
Who Replaces Holgorsen in Houston?
The top candidates to replace all have some level of experience coaching in the Lone Star State, with Tulane’s Willie Fritz (+450) and UTSA’s Jeff Traylor (+500) leading the pack. Fritz has overseen a renaissance in New Orleans, leading Tulane to 23 wins over the last two years and a victory in the 2022 Cotton Bowl over USC. Traylor took his three decades of high school coaching in Texas to San Antonio and turned the Roadrunners into an overnight success story.
In that time, Traylor has won two Conference USA titles and as many C-USA Coach of the Year awards, helping the program transition upward into the American Athletic Conference. His 38-14 record at UTSA makes Traylor a can’t-miss candidate for the Houston job, given how the Gilmer native played collegiately at Stephen F. Austin and coached at Big Sandy, Jacksonville, and Gilmer high schools in the state.
That’s why Traylor beats out a host of other candidates, including Texas associate head coach Jeff Banks and former Texas Tech and Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury (+700), as well as Will Stein of Oregon and G.J. Kinne of Texas State (+1200).
Rounding out the list are Kansas State offensive coordinator Collin Klein and former longtime TCU head coach Gary Patterson, who are listed at +1750 apiece in the race to replace Holgorsen in the Space City.
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