Houston targeting Willie Fritz as coach: Cougars eyeing Tulane boss to replace Dana Holgorsen, per report

Houston targeting Willie Fritz as coach: Cougars eyeing Tulane boss to replace Dana Holgorsen, per report

Houston is closing in on hiring Tulane coach Will Fritz to succeed Dana Holgorsen as the program’s football coach, according to the Houston Chronicle. Fritz is coaching the No. 22 Green Wave in the AAC Championship Game against SMU in New Orleans on Saturday.

Entering Saturday’s conference title game, the 63-year-old Fritz owns a 208-115 career record as a head coach across stops at Central Missouri, Sam Houston, Georgia Southern and Tulane. Though his mark over the past eight years at Tulane is just 54-46 (31-33 AAC), the Green Wave have developed into a Group of Five power over the past two seasons. Fritz coached Tulane to a 12-2 record and Cotton Bowl victory over USC last season, and the Green Wave were 11-1 entering Saturday’s AAC Championship Game.

Tulane has not been to consecutive bowls since 1979 and 1980 prior to Fritz’s arrival, and the program is on the cusp of making its fifth bowl game under his direction.

Houston fired Holgorsen on Sunday after the Cougars struggled to a 4-8 mark in their first season as members of the Big 12. Holgorsen led Houston to a 12-2 mark in 2021. That success could not be sustained, however, and was jettisoned with a 31-28 mark across five seasons on the job.

Fritz has earned AAC Coach of the Year honors each of the past two seasons and earned Boddy Dodd Coach of the Year last season as Tulane finished at No. 9 in the AP Top 25 poll for its first top-10 ranking to finish a season since 1998.