3 reasons Major Applewhite is the right hire for Houston
By John Buhler
1. Unless Herman fails, Applewhite will never get to lead his alma mater
Applewhite starred for the Longhorns. He would probably love nothing more than to coach his alma mater’s football program during his coaching career. The problem is that he won’t be able to pry that job away from Herman any time soon.
Unless Herman is completely over his head (he’s not) at Texas, Applewhite won’t be a candidate for the Texas job until he is in his mid-to-late 40s at the very earliest. Yes, Applewhite could have followed Herman back to Austin, but that would have been a lateral more for him more than anything.
Applewhite had already been an offensive coordinator for Texas from 2011 to 2012. In his late 30s, it was time for Applewhite to push for a Group of 5 coaching job. Because he has to realize that his dream of being the Texas head coach is no longer possible, Applewhite can use this as major internal motivation.
Not that the Texas job should have gone to him in 2016, but Applewhite can use Houston as the head coaching platform that Herman did. Keep in mind that Herman had only been a college head coach for two years at Houston before taking the Texas job.
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Eventually another major Power 5 job will open up by 2020. With three to four years leading a solid mid-major program like Houston, Applewhite can lead another blue-blood. It just won’t be his alma mater. One could argue that Houston might get a Big 12 invite in the near future, assuming the Big 12 doesn’t dissolve in the next few years. Taking a chance on Applewhite feels like a wise decision for the Houston athletic department to make.