A little more than three years after boasting "There ain't no f- hot seat in my mind," Dana Holgorsen has been fired for a second time.
Nebraska fired its offensive coordinator, who was the head coach at the University of Houston when he had his hot seat discussion, Saturday, a day after the Cornhuskers lost to Illinois 24-13, their fourth straight loss after they opened the season 5-0. Nebraska scored just 54 points combined in those four losses, failing to score more than 17 in any of the defeats.
"Like so many of you, I am angry, I am disappointed and I am frustrated with our results this season," Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said in a statement released Saturday. "As the head coach, I am ultimately responsible for every aspect of our program - including wins and losses - and it is my responsibility to make changes when they are warranted.
"While there are many areas that need improvement, our offensive plan and execution is simply not working. Earlier today, I relieved offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen of his duties. As I have recently shared, Dana has a fantastic offensive mind, he is a strong leader, and he has done great work here at Nebraska. But simply, we need a change."
A year after being fired by UH following a disappointing 2023 season, Holgorsen was hired at Nebraska as an offensive consultant late in the 2024 season . He moved into the offensive coordinator's role before last season, getting a contract that paid him $1.2 million annually. Holgorsen's offense ranked 12th (22.2 points per game) in the Big Ten in scoring in conference games. The Huskers ranked eighth (25.4) last season.
The 55-year-old Holgorsen once was thought of as an offensive coaching savant with his stints as coordinator at Texas Tech, UH and Oklahoma State earning him his first head coaching job at West Virginia. Holgorsen led the Mountaineers to three Top 20 finishes in eight seasons, including an Orange Bowl win in his debut season in 2012.
He resigned his post at West Virginia in 2019 to return to Houston as head coach. The Cougars went 31-28 in five seasons with Holgorsen at the helm, including a 12-2 run in 2021 when UH finished the season ranked 17th in the country. The Cougars dipped to 8-5 the next season, which is when the hot seat talk started.
"We won bowl games in back-to-back years," Holgorsen told The Athletic in March 2023 . "I have five years on my contract with a f- impossible buyout. … So there ain't no f- hot seat in my mind. There just ain't."
Eight months later, the Cougars finished off a 4-8 season and Holgorsen was given a $14.8 million buyout. Holgorsen had a brief stint as a consultant at TCU before joining Rhule in Nebraska.
"I will continue to evaluate our program through the season and certainly at its conclusion and make additional changes where I believe they will help us win," Rhule said. "The Nebraska fan base has high expectations and I embrace them, and I also know of their passionate support of the young men in our program. I hope they will continue to be there for our players with very important games still ahead. Our entire program is determined to finish this season strong."
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This article originally published at Former UH coach Dana Holgorsen fired as Nebraska offensive coordinator following Huskers loss .
