After a search process that included Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin and former LSU coach Les Miles, Houston has ultimately decided to stay in-house by promoting offensive coordinator Major Applewhite to head coach, the program announced on Friday.

"When we set out on our search for the new leader of our football program, we wanted a coach with great integrity who believed in our mission and truly believed in our student-athlete experience," said Houston athletic director Hunter Yurachek in a release. "We had our sights set on a focused competitor who has demonstrated success and possesses a deep connection to college and high school football in the great state of Texas. As this process was completed, it was clearly evident the only individual to offer our position to was Major Applewhite and he was indeed the right man to lead our program."

Applewhite's hiring is effective immediately, and he will coach the team in the Las Vegas Bowl against San Diego State. According to the school, the team's defensive coordinator Todd Orlando, who was also in the running for the job, will continue to serve in the same role in the bowl game.

"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," said Applewhite about his hiring. "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."

Applewhite, who worked under exiting coach Tom Herman at Houston for the last two seasons, spent the prior six years as an assistant at Texas (three seasons as a co-offensive coordinator). The former Longhorns quarterback (1998-2001) grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but has spent most of his football career in Texas, serving as a graduate assistant at UT from 2003-04 and working as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Rice in 2006.

This will be Applewhite's first head coaching job.

Applewhite has always been sort of the undersized everyman. At Texas, CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd can clearly recall him getting into it with Oklahoma fans after beating the Sooners in 1999. He went out of his way to shout up into the stands with some salty language.

"He's said, 'I've always been the underdog. I was never the strongest, never the biggest, never the fastest,'" AD Hunter Yurachek said.

"Mack Brown said he had it. He just had it. In my opinion, you don't ever lose it. He will have it as our head football coach."

Applewhite's hire continues a tradition of Houston of elevating hot assistants. That goes back to Art Briles and continues with Kevin Sumlin, Tony Levine and Tom Herman.

"We've got really a great culture that we want to continue. Major is not Tom. He's going to put his own touch on the program ... I want to keep that going."

Defensive coordinator and former interim coach Todd Orlando will stay on through the bowl game. Yuracheck says he has a "standing offer" from Herman to be Texas' defensive coordinator.

Yurachek spoke about Applewhite's ability to recruit.

"The number of high school coaches from Houston and Texas that reached out to me in support of Major [was amazing]. That's our lifeline. To have coaches reach out to me and talk to me about Major's professionalism and demeanor was impressive."

There is a "substantial buyout" in Applewhite's contract that will be announced, Yurachek said. That means a lot, he said, especially in the state of Texas.

With Texas having taken his former coach and some other jobs in the state possibly opening up soon, that could be key.