Preview magazine season is here as we roll into the back half of June, and college football fans begin to set their eyes on the things to come in the year ahead.
Along with Phil Steele and Lindy’s, Athlon Sports has made a name for itself as one of the giants in the preview magazine business, cementing itself as a mainstay on grocery store shelves across the nation.
This magazine, in particular, has long had a segment during this part of the season when they ask coaches anonymously about the other schools in their league.
It’s here where we’ll take a look at what one Big 12 coach has to say about the Houston Cougars.
After a disappointing 4-8 season that led Dana Holgorsen to the door, the Cougars went and hired the top Group of Five coach in America in Tulane’s Willie Fritz.
The Green Wave went a combined 23-4 in their last two seasons under Fritz, and now he’ll try to bring the Cougars out of the Big 12 cellar and back to being a perennial conference title contender.
According to one Big 12 coach, the Coogs’ issues weren’t talented-based, but more about how they played on a week-to-week basis. In short, they were sloppy, and the hiring of Fritz should certainly help that.
“Hiring Willie Fritz makes so much sense for this program. Fritz is the ultimate steady hand, just a consistent, hard-nosed football coach, and he’s finally getting a job where they want to really support the program at the top level,” one Big 12 coach said.
“They weren’t untalented last season by any stretch; they were just sloppy.”
If Donovan Smith and the Cougars offense can find some consistency, they will be much better off going forward under Fritz, but even if it takes a year or two, there’s no doubt that Fritz is the guy that can get Houston back to relevance on a national scale.
