Dana Holgorsen is expected to be the new coach at Houston on Tuesday, according to multiple reports.
Holgorsen compiled a 61-41 record at West Virginia the last eight seasons and helped the program make the move from the Big East to the Big 12. Holgorsen's move from the Power 5 to the Group of 5 leaves the Mountaineers searching for a new coach, and there are several interesting candidates for the job:
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Neal Brown, Troy
We're going to keep putting Brown on these lists until he lands a bigger job. The Kentucky native has a 35-16 record at Troy, and that includes three straight seasons with double-digit wins. The Trojans also win their bowl games.
Mike Norvell, Memphis
Norvell has a 26-14 record the last three seasons with the Tigers, and the offensive philosophy wouldn't change much. Norvell has elevated the recruiting at Memphis. He could do the same in Morgantown.
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati
It would be tough to pull Fickell out of his home state, but his stock won't be higher after an 11-win season with the Bearcats. Fickell also has experience at Ohio State as an interim coach and longtime assistant.
Bill Clark, UAB
The 2018 Sporting News Coach of the Year has worked wonders in a short time with UAB. The Blazers won Conference USA and their bowl game just two years removed from not having a program. Clark knows how to jumpstart a program, and he'd have more resources than ever before at West Virginia.
Mike Yurcich, Oklahoma State
The Cowboys offensive coordinator seems long overdue for a shot at a head coaching job, and he has Big 12 ties. The offense would not change much, and it would create an intriguing rivalry with Oklahoma State.
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Tony Gibson, West Virginia DC
West Virginia is a program that likes its own, and Gibson is a Van, W.Va, native and Glenville State graduate who has been an assistant with the program since 2013. If the search stays internal, then Gibson would be a logical choice to stay on board.
Kevin Wilson, Ohio State OC
Wilson was a longtime assistant at Oklahoma before taking a job at Indiana, where he took the Hoosiers to two bowl games with a hard-to-defend offense. He was dismissed after allegations of mistreatment of players, but he has spent the last two years as a co-offensive coordinator at Ohio State.
Mike Leach, Washington State
Replace one eccentric coach with another — and one's who had a 84-43 record at Texas Tech from 2000-09. This would be the biggest job of Leach's head-coaching career — and perhaps a shot at the Playoff berth he's been chasing. Remember, Leach flirted with Tennessee last year. Is this that much different?
Rich Rodriguez, Ole Miss OC
Rodriguez was just hired as Ole Miss offensive coordinator, and it's a stretch considering circumstances surrounding his firing from Arizona. Still, he did his best work at West Virginia — where he was 60-26 from 2001-07 before taking an ill-fated job at Michigan. Would Rodriguez be able to go home again?
