Houston hires Tulane's Willie Fritz after poor Big 12 debut - ESPN

Houston has hired Tulane's Willie Fritz to be the Cougars' next football coach, the school announced Sunday.

Fritz has led Tulane to one of the best stretches in school history, as the Green Wave have reached a bowl game in five of the past six seasons and have gone 23-4 the past two years. Prior to his arrival, Tulane went to one bowl game between 2003 and 2015.

«No one in the country has been better at leading and developing student-athletes than Willie Fritz,» Houston athletic director Chris Pezman said in a statement. «Over his more than three-decades of head coaching experience, he has guided several football programs to historic success.»

Offensive coordinator Slade Nagle is set to serve as Tulane's interim coach, sources told ESPN.

Fritz led Tulane to the American Athletic Conference title last year and lost to SMU in the title game Saturday. His signature win at Tulane came in the Cotton Bowl after the 2022 season, a scintillating 46-45 victory over USC and quarterback Caleb Williams.

He will replace Dana Holgorsen, who was fired after three losing seasons in five years. Holgorsen finished with a 31-28 record and is due a $14.8 million buyout, which is subject to mitigation.

Fritz has extensive experience coaching in Texas, as he three times worked at Sam Houston State as well as a high school coach and a junior college coach at Blinn.

He has been a head coach since 1993 and has experienced success at every level. That includes two juco national titles at Blinn and postseason appearances at Central Missouri, Sam Houston State, Georgia Southern and Tulane.

Houston is facing a steep climb, as it debuted with a 2-7 Big 12 record in its first season in the conference, with one win coming improbably in the final