Major Applewhite Named Houston Head Coach: Latest Contract Details, Reaction

The University of Houston will reportedly promote offensive coordinator Major Applewhite to head coach Friday morning.

Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports first reported the news, and Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle also passed along word of the school's choice after Tom Herman left for Texas.

Applewhite released a statement on Houston's athletics website:

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My family and I are excited and honored to have the opportunity to lead such a tradition rich program and continue our lives in one of the greatest cities is the nation, a city we love. The student-athletes truly are the backbone of every great program and as they've demonstrated over the past few years, we have an exceptional group of young men in our program, and we'll continue to add men with great character and a competitive drive in our recruiting. Living in the best state for high school football is a true blessing and advantage for our program and I cannot be more thankful for the support of our outstanding high school coaches from throughout the state.

"

He reportedly received a five-year contract from the school, per Feldman. The Fox Sports reporter also provided a look at the trickle-down effect of the in-house hiring:

The 38-year-old Louisiana native rose to prominence as a quarterback for Texas from 1998 through 2001. He returned to the Longhorns twice, first as a graduate assistant in 2003 and then as part of the coaching staff for six years starting in 2008.

Applewhite, who also made stops at Syracuse, Rice and Alabama, joined Houston as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in January 2015. Less than two years later, he assumes the reins.

"I like where I'm at," Applewhite told Michael Calderon of the Daily Cougar in August 2015. "We are happy as can be and in the coaching world, you don't want to move and I'm not interested in trying to move. I'm happy here."

Applewhite will be tasked with building off the foundation Kevin Sumlin and Herman created in recent years. Houston's success starts on offense, where it ranked 15th in passing and 21st in scoring this season.

Applewhite's promotion will make for a smooth transition. He's familiar with the program and the fertile recruiting ground in Texas. Creating a pipeline to attract those talented prospects amid competition from Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech, among others, is essential.

Next up for the Cougars is the Las Vegas Bowl against San Diego State on Dec. 17.