Dana Holgorsen's Hiring at Houston a Sign of the Group of Five's Rising Ceiling

[Harry]

Houston’s hiring of Dana Holgorsen flies in the face of the traditional progression of the coaching carousel. Sure, Group of Five schools have plucked their new head coaches from Power 5 staffs often over the years, but most have been coordinators or assistants being given a shot at their first head-coaching jobs, or recently fired Power 5 head coaches who seek another chance in the big chair instead of moving down the org chart and taking an assistant job at a bigger program.

And then there’s Holgorsen, who with his agreement to a five-year, $20 million deal, becomes the only person to move from a Power 5 head coaching job to a Group of Five head coaching job without being fired or otherwise forced out. What Holgorsen did probably isn’t the start of a trend, but it’s still meaningful evidence that even if the Group of Five doesn’t have universal respect among big-time college football, at least its best teams do, especially within the American Athletic Conference.

Read more:  https://www.si.com/college-football/2019/01/01/dana-holgorsen-houston-west-virginia

[Wag Tag]

Increase the number of play off teams will make a huge difference. Being a top G5 is also our goal and we are just starting!

[RiseUNT]

If West Virginia had only one loss to OU would they have been in the playoff? 

[VideoEagle]

Quote

To get true consideration for the playoff, a Group of Five team needs what Holgorsen and Houston think they can achieve: sustained success and the talent to knock off Power 5 challengers. An undefeated season out of nowhere won’t do it; neither will a second year running the table. Instead, it takes excellent recruiting, fortunate scheduling and a coach capable of holding the program to an unnaturally high standard. Houston already has the talent to contend for the AAC title every year, and it has proven itself willing to schedule the marquee games that catch the playoff committee’s eyes. Holgorsen might be the missing piece.

Sustained success at a level of 10+ wins a year every year for the foreseeable future. No idea exactly how many years in a row that will take as no one has ever done it before. I've read Holgorson is getting $20 million over five years - some say guaranteed but I haven't seen a real reporter write that. IF it works, it's probably worth it, but that remains a BIG if. 

I'm far from convinced they won't start next year 1-2 or even 0-3 based on a new staff, limited recruiting for next year and who they've got coming back. If they don't get their 10+ wins next year, someone is going to be looking bad over this decision. This really is the "big risk/big reward" situation. If it works they are in great shape, but if it doesn't they are really in trouble. The hard part is committing those dollars for an unknown duration of time - could be seven to ten years! 

[Felozano]

1 hour ago, VideoEagle said:

Sustained success at a level of 10+ wins a year every year for the foreseeable future. No idea exactly how many years in a row that will take as no one has ever done it before. I've read Holgorson is getting $20 million over five years - some say guaranteed but I haven't seen a real reporter write that. IF it works, it's probably worth it, but that remains a BIG if. 

I'm far from convinced they won't start next year 1-2 or even 0-3 based on a new staff, limited recruiting for next year and who they've got coming back. If they don't get their 10+ wins next year, someone is going to be looking bad over this decision. This really is the "big risk/big reward" situation. If it works they are in great shape, but if it doesn't they are really in trouble. The hard part is committing those dollars for an unknown duration of time - could be seven to ten years! 

Sustained 10+ wins just to even get a sniff at the table?  How many seasons would have to be sustained?  4-5 Years?  A freshman could come in, never lose a game in his four years, and still not get a chance to compete in a meaningful bowl in the current system.  What are the odds a G5 coach stays after 4 undefeated seasons?  

Many people have said it here before, but the system is ridiculous. 

[Hunter Green]

5 hours ago, Felozano said:

Sustained 10+ wins just to even get a sniff at the table?  How many seasons would have to be sustained?  4-5 Years?  A freshman could come in, never lose a game in his four years, and still not get a chance to compete in a meaningful bowl in the current system.  What are the odds a G5 coach stays after 4 undefeated seasons?  

Many people have said it here before, but the system is ridiculous. 

Hasn't worked out to well for Boise St. and they've been pretty successful for a number of years.

[DeepGreen]

Remember what I told everyone when Tillman Fertitta got involved with UH Athletics a few years ago.

[Aldo]

3 minutes ago, DeepGreen said:

Remember what I told everyone when Tillman Fertitta got involved with UH Athletics a few years ago.

Fertitta Frittata?

[MeanGreenTexan]

38 minutes ago, Aldo said:

Fertitta Frittata?

What a wonderful phrase.

[Aldo]

Just now, MeanGreenTexan said:

What a wonderful phrase.

It means contract worries, for the rest of your days

[Felozano]

1 hour ago, Aldo said:

Fertitta Frittata?

Let’s call the whole thing off

[Legend500]

This says less about the entirety of FBS and much more about the fact that the P5 itself is splitting, with BiG, ACC and SEC on one side and PAC 12 and Big XII on the other. We're barely into January, and the XII has already lost coaching competitions to the AAC and CUSA. There's trouble afoot.

[Stix]

5 hours ago, DeepGreen said:

Remember what I told everyone when Tillman Fertitta got involved with UH Athletics a few years ago.

Seriously - what did you say?

[UNTLifer]

How long will he stay invested at that level in the AAC playing the likes of Temple, UCONN, Tulsa, Tulane, etc...?  They aren't moving up because the P5's are monopolizing the money and aren't about to add another slice to the pie. The only hope is to see P5 bottom dwellers like Kansas, Baylor, Vanderbilt, etc... relegated down and that isn't going to happen with the units they bring to basketball, etc...

Houston is throwing a lot of money at a situation that isn't about to change enough to help them. 

[DeepGreen]

1 hour ago, Stix said:

Seriously - what did you say?

You mean you don't remember???  OMG!