Houston dismisses Holgorsen after 5 seasons

Houston fired head coach Dana Holgorsen after five seasons, the school announced Sunday.

The Cougars finished 4-8 in their Big 12 debut season and lost three straight games to end the year.

Holgorsen will be owed nearly $14.8 million in buyout money, though the figure could be mitigated if he lands another job, sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel.

"Over the course of his five seasons with the Cougars, Dana made strides in our football program in many ways and laid the groundwork for our transition to the Big 12 conference," said vice president of athletics Chris Pezman.

"Ultimately, the results on the field fell below our standards of excellence. We are grateful to Dana for his efforts and commitment to our student-athletes and we wish him the very best in his future endeavors."

The 52-year-old went 7-13 during his first two seasons before a strong two-year run that included 20 wins and two successful bowl appearances. He leaves with a 31-28 overall record.

UTSA's Jeff Traylor, Tulane's Willie Fritz, former TCU coach Gary Patterson, and former Texas Tech and Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury are among the top candidates, Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Assistant coach Corby Meekins will serve as interim head coach.