MORGANTOWN — Former WVU head coach Dana Holgorsen said he does not regret leaving the Mountaineers to become the head coach at Houston back in 2019.
Holgorsen, who was fired by the Cougars last November, has taken a job as a consultant at TCU for this fall. During his introductory press conference with the Horned Frogs on Thursday, Holgorsen said he does not regret moving from WVU to Houston, which at the time was in a lower conference.
“I had reasons why I did that,” Holgorsen said. “I had been at West Virginia for eight years and was very successful. But there were a couple of things that I was concerned about that made me do that and I do not regret that.”
Holgorsen was the head coach at WVU for eight seasons from 2011-18 with a 61-41 record. Under him, the Mountaineers had seven winning seasons, went 2-5 in bowl games and had three top-25 finishes.
In five seasons at Houston, Holgorsen was 31-28 with a 12-win campaign in 2021. The Cougars went just 4-8 last season, however, their first in the Big 12.
“You look what happened at Houston, we were 4-8 last year, our first year in the Big 12, and I guess that’s not good enough,” Holgorsen said. “A couple of years prior to that in the American (Athletic Conference) we won 20 games in two years and back-to-back bowl games. We had some success and I do not regret that move.”
Holgorsen has now worked for five current Big 12 schools. Besides WVU, Houston and now TCU, he has previously worked for Texas Tech (2000-07) and Oklahoma State (2010).
It was his relationship with TCU head coach Sonny Dykes that landed Holgorsen in his current position. Holgorsen and Dykes were co-offensive coordinators together at Texas Tech under then-head coach Mike Leach.
“I really appreciate Sonny, I’ve known Sonny for 24 years and we think a lot alike,” Holgorsen said. “I certainly appreciate him and the TCU administration for letting me be here.”
Holgorsen said he visited 8-10 schools this summer and felt he fit best at TCU. He admitted the reason he looked for a job instead of retiring was because of a mitigation clause in his Houston contract that may have reduced the size of his $14.8 million buyout if he were unemployed.
This is the first time since 2010 that Holgorsen will not be a head coach. He said he’s not sure if he will seek head coaching opportunities in the future.
“It’s a lot less stressful,” he joked about his current role. “I’m not even going to pretend to predict what the future’s going to be. I’m interested in trying to help TCU this fall and to see how I feel.
“It’s been good for me to take a deep breath. It’s been good for me and it’s been good for my family.”
Holgorsen is an off-the-field coach. He described his role as an “advanced scout” that will help Sonny and TCU’s coaching staff turn the page to the next opponent week-to-week.
“I have no gameday responsibilities,” he said. “Once I help (for that week), then I’m going to remove myself and get ready for the next opponent. What that means is on Saturday I’m going to do something I haven’t done in 32 years — I’m going to enjoy it. I’m going to tailgate, I’m going to have fun, I’m going to enjoy it.”
WVU and TCU will not play this season. The Mountaineers topped the Horned Frogs 24-21 last September.
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