Houston 2018 season recap: Cougars head in new direction after disappointing year
### Biggest offseason question: Can Dana Holgorsen reinvigorate a fan base?
The salary might not be as eye-popping, but make no mistake – Houston just gave Dana Holgorsen the Group of Five equivalent of the Jimbo Fisher contract. Holgorsen makes $20 million over the course of the contract, and earns more than $1 million more than any other Group of Five coach next year.
While fixing the football program is a big part of Holgorsen’s job, engaging the fan base will be just as important. The program remembers just how much the entire university benefitted when Tom Herman led the Cougars to wins over Oklahoma and Florida State, and when U of H won the AAC. This is an investment in the university as much as the football program.
Does Holgorsen deserve that kind of credit? We’ll have to wait and see. He led the Mountaineers to a pair of 10-win seasons in power conferences and beat Herman at Texas just last season. He’s coached elite quarterbacks like Geno Smith and Will Grier. There’s a track record of success.
Houston can be an elite Group of Five job. Herman proved it. There’s no reason the Cougars can’t compete with UCF every single year for the Group of Five slot in the New Year’s Six. That’s expectations for Holgorsen heading forward.