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Major Applewhite has been named the new head coach at Houston, taking over for Tom Herman who accepted the Texas job in November.

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Houston has been searching for a replacement for Tom Herman since he departed for the Texas job in November. It didn’t have to look far for its next head coach.

Major Applewhite, who had served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Cougars the last two seasons, has been promoted up the ranks for a job that has seen a lot of success in the past decade. Per Brett McMurphy, the two parties agreed to a five-year deal.

The 38-year-old Applewhite spent his playing days at Texas, and also served as an assistant in multiple roles for the Longhorns before coming to Houston in 2015. His connections to the Lone Star State high school coaches will be crucial in keeping the Cougars as an outside contender to crack the College Football Playoff in the future.

Under Applewhite’s watch, the Houston offense was a force on the field, including scoring 40.4 points per game in 2015 as the Cougars racked up a 13-1 record.

Replacing Herman will be a challenge, though, as he had taken the Houston program to heights rarely seen at the university. In two seasons, Herman led the Cougars to a 22-4 record and a bowl win over Florida State in the Peach Bowl to end the season. A win over Oklahoma to start the season had everyone talking about the Houston program, but a few losses later in the season calmed the talk of a possible playoff berth.

Three of the past four Houston head coaches before Applewhite – Art Briles, Kevin Sumlin, and Herman – have all gone to accept jobs at Power Five schools, with the first two having success at Baylor and Texas A&M, respectively.

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