Houston Head Coach Rumors: Cougars Ask to Interview WVU's Dana Holgorsen

The Houston Cougars are reportedly looking toward the Big 12 as they search for their next head football coach.

According to Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports, Houston requested permission to discuss the vacant position with West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen. Holgorsen has been with the Mountaineers since the 2011 campaign and sports a 61-41 record in eight years.

West Virginia has enjoyed sustained success with Holgorsen at the helm, reaching a bowl game in seven of his eight seasons and winning double-digit games twice. He beat Clemson in the Orange Bowl in his first season with the Mountaineers and had them in the Big 12 championship race this year until they lost the regular-season finale to the Oklahoma Sooners.

Houston is in the coaching market after it fired Major Applewhite following two seasons.

Army destroyed the Cougars 70-14 in the Armed Forces Bowl, capping off an 8-5 season for Applewhite after he went 7-5 during the 2017 campaign.

It may seem like a step in the wrong direction on the surface for Holgorsen to go from a formidable Big 12 program to one coming off two mediocre seasons in the American Athletic Conference, but Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta is a booster for the Cougars and could help provide the West Virginia coach with a raise from the $3.6 millionhe makes at his current position.

He would also provide Houston with another high-profile coach after current Texas Longhorns head coach Tom Herman led the Cougars to a combined 22-4 record from 2015-16 and guided the team to a Peach Bowl victory over Florida State in the first of those two seasons.