It looks like the coaching carousel is about to start spinning again. Houston is expected to fire coach Major Applewhite in the coming days, according to SB Nation's Steven Godfrey and The Athletic's Bruce Feldman. However, a source told CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd on Saturday that "no decision" has been reached on Applewhite's future by the Cougars at this time.
Furthermore, Football Scoop reports that West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen, a former Houston offensive coordinator, is one of the top candidates to replace Applewhite. Holgorsen has been connected to a number of openings over the last couple hiring cycles.
Applewhite has only been at Houston for two seasons, as he replaced Tom Herman after Herman left to take the job at Texas. After going 7-5 in his first season with the Cougars, Applewhite's team went 8-5 this season. The Cougars played Army in the Armed Forces Bowl last week and were embarrassed 70-14.
As for Holgorsen and Houston's interest in him, Holgorsen's name originally came up as a candidate for the Houston job when Herman left. Holgorsen is an Iowa native, but he's also a member of Mike Leach's Air Raid tree and spent the majority of his coaching career inside the state of Texas, including two seasons as Houston's offensive coordinator, before he left to take the West Virginia job in 2011.
The question is whether a Power Five coach would leave his current gig for a job in a Group of Five conference. Holgorsen received a five-year extension at West Virginia following the 2016 season but is losing a lot of key players from his Mountaineers team that finished 8-4 this season following a loss to Syracuse in the Camping World Bowl.
