Houston tabs Sumlin as new coach

Dec 14, 2007 - 8:27 PM HOUSTON (Ticker) -- After spending 17 seasons as an assistant, Kevin Sumlin finally will be running a college football program.

Sumlin was named as the new football coach at Houston on Friday, becoming the first African-American to be hired by a Football Bowl Subdivision school in the state of Texas.

Sumlin, 43, spent the past five seasons as an offensive assistant under Bob Stoops at Oklahoma. The Indianapolis native also worked at Texas A&M (2001-2002), Purdue (1998-2000), Minnesota (1993-1997) and Wyoming (1991-1992).

"As I spoke with people around the country about Kevin, he is very highly regarded by his peers, by head coaches, by assistant coaches and by athletic directors," Houston athletic director Dave Maggard said. "He has been in programs that have been very strong programs (and in) programs where success has taken place and have continued the success.

"He has a great deal of success in recruiting, and he has been recruiting the Houston area for a number of years during the time he was at Texas A&M and the University of Oklahoma."

Sumlin replaces Art Briles and inherits a Cougars team which went 8-4 this season, including 6-2 in Conference USA play. Houston won the Conference USA title in 2006, going 10-4 overall and losing to South Carolina in the Liberty Bowl.

Houston will play TCU in the Texas Bowl on December 28. The school did not indicate whether Sumlin would coach the Cougars in the game or if he would help coach Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl on January 2.

"This is a place that has won conference championship in recent years, and we want to continue down that path and play for a conference championship every season," Sumlin said. "This is Dave Maggard's vision, and I share the same vision."

An FBS school had not hired an African-American coach prior to Friday. Matt Simon was hired in 1993 by North Texas, which was a member of the Football Championship Subdivision - then Division I-AA - at the time.

Sumlin helped guide an Oklahoma offense which scored 43.4 points per game this season, the third-best mark in the FBS.

"I bring both energy and excitement to the program, as well as an aggressive style of offense and defense," he said. "It will be a style that the players will want to play and a style that our fans will like to watch.

"What excited me (about coming to Houston) was a chance to play for a championship every year."