After five seasons, Dana Holgorsen was fired as the football coach of Houston

A day after wrapping up his third losing season in five years, the Houston Cougars dismissed head coach Dana Holgorsen on Sunday.

“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,” Houston vice president of athletics Chris Pezman said in a statement. ”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.”

Including a 27-13 setback against UCF on Saturday, the Cougars finished the year with three straight losses. After joining the newly reorganized league, Houston finished the first season 4-8 overall and 2-7 in Big 12 play.

For the first time since Holgorsen's rookie campaign in 2019, Houston is not going to a bowl game due to a dismal finish that includes defeats in five of its last six games.

In five Houston seasons, he had a 31-28 record.

While Houston searches for a new head coach, assistant Corby Meekins will serve as the interim coach.