Houston hires Tulanes Willie Fritz as head football coach: How he fits

Houston hired Tulane’s Willie Fritz as football coach, the school announced Sunday. Here’s what you need to know:

Fritz, 63, is 72-54 in 10 years at the FBS level and 54-47 in eight years at Tulane. He led the Green Wave to a 23-4 record the last two seasons, including a Cotton Bowl win over USC and a No. 9 final ranking in the Associated Press poll in 2022.
In his 30-year head-coaching career, spanning the FBS, FCS, Division II and junior college levels, Fritz is 236-120.
Fritz fills the void left by Dana Holgorsen, who was fired by Houston last week after five seasons and a 31-28 record.

Coaching veteran set to lead the Coogs.

Welcome, the 16th head coach in Houston history – Willie Fritz

🔗: https://t.co/iqVKy0dnPV @CoachWEFritz | #GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/LAfdthEDi9

— Houston Football (@UHCougarFB) December 3, 2023

Fritz’s contract terms

Houston signed Fritz to a five-year, $22.5 million contract with an annual salary of $4.5 million per year, according to a copy of the contract provided by the school. His salary is similar to that of his predecessor (Holgorsen made $4.3 million in 2023 and was set to get annual $100,000 raises for the remainder of his contract, which ran through 2027).

Fritz’s contract comes with a hefty buyout in the first three years. If Houston fires Fritz without cause before Dec. 31, 2026, UH would owe Fritz $19 million. If it fired him on Jan. 1, 2027, or later, it would owe him 60 percent of his remaining salary.

If Fritz were to leave UH, his buyout is mirrored: he would owe the school $19 million if he leaves before Dec. 31, 2026, and would owe 60 percent of what would have been his remaining salary if he leaves in the final two years of the contract.

Houston will provide Fritz with a $6.75 million staff pool for 10 assistant coaches, support staff and up to five strength coaches. That’s slightly higher than Holgorsen’s 2023 staff pool, which was $6.5 million.

If Houston finishes in the top three of the Big 12 standings (tied or outright), Fritz’s contract will automatically be extended by one year. That provision applies only once. He also can get one-time salary increases for winning a conference championship ($500,000), making the College Football Playoff ($500,000) or winning the national championship ($1 million).

Why Houston chose Fritz

Fritz has won at every level he has coached. He won two national junior college championships at Blinn College, took Central Missouri to two 10-win seasons and a Division II playoff berth, led Sam Houston to two FCS national title game appearances and has turned Tulane into one of the best programs in the Group of 5 the last two seasons, taking the Green Wave to consecutive AAC championship games. He’s a program builder at a time when the Cougars need that. Houston, which went 4-8 in its debut Big 12 campaign, is betting that Fritz can build and sustain success in the league. — Sam Khan Jr., senior college football writer

Why Fritz fits at Houston

He spent seven years as a head coach in Texas, with each stop roughly an hour drive from Houston, so he’s familiar with the landscape. It also gives Fritz a chance at a power conference school, the only level he hasn’t coached before. After taking the Green Wave to two of the best seasons in school history, with quarterback Michael Pratt looking like a potential NFL Draft prospect, the timing seemed right. Fritz came close to taking over at a Power 5 school last year, but a deal with Georgia Tech fell through in part because of the timing.

Because of Fritz’s experience with Georgia Tech, which hoped to announce his would-be hire before Tulane’s 2022 conference championship game, Houston carefully constructed the hiring process to avoid disrupting the Green Wave’s AAC title game against SMU on Saturday. But Fritz has been Houston’s top target from the start, a school source said, and Fritz has been receptive throughout the process. — Khan

What’s next for Tulane?

It’s a tough loss for the Green Wave, as Fritz took the program to heights not seen in almost a century. For a period, there was a belief that Fritz could finish his career in Tulane. But the opportunity to finally coach at the Power 5 level was too hard to pass up.

Tulane has become a much better job in recent years and might be one of the best Group of 5 jobs out there. There is more investment in facilities, a solid NIL situation and a belief you can win big there.

Potential candidates to watch for the job include Tulane offensive coordinator Slade Nagle, Florida State offensive coordinator Alex Atkins, LSU quarterbacks coach Joe Sloan, Missouri defensive coordinator Blake Baker, Jacksonville State head coach Rich Rodriguez and Troy head coach Jon Sumrall. — Chris Vannini, senior college football writer

What they’re saying

Houston athletic director Chris Pezman said in a news release that “no one in the country has been better at leading and developing student-athletes” than Fritz.

Fritz said he is “truly humbled and honored” to join the program. He continued: “There is no ceiling for success, with the incredible fan support, excellent facilities, talented young men and a collective desire to compete for championships. We will build a program that all Coogs can be proud of and I cannot wait to see the results.”

Required reading

(Photo: Matthew Hinton / USA Today)

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