Houston is closing in on a deal with Tulane’s Willie Fritz to become its new head coach.
Multiple outlets reported the two sides are expected to finalize a deal on Sunday.
Fritz, 63, was coaching Tulane on Saturday and his club fell 26-14 to SMU in the American Athletic Conference title game. The loss knocked the No. 22 Green Wave (11-2) out of the running for a New Year’s Six bowl.
Fritz danced around the subject after Saturday’s game but said, “No, I do not” when asked if he had reached a deal with Houston.
Fritz wasn’t as specific when asked if he planned to discuss the job with Houston officials.
“I put everything into this game this week to make sure there wasn’t any distractions and I just want to focus on this ballgame right now,” Fritz said. “I’m going to take a step back and I have to process some things. That’s just life.”
Tulane is 23-4 over the last two campaigns. A season ago, it defeated Southern California 46-45 in the Cotton Bowl to finish No. 9 in the nation.
Fritz is 54-47 in eight seasons at Tulane. He also coached Division II Central Missouri (1997-2009), FCS program Sam Houston State (2010-13) and Georgia Southern (2014-15) and has a 208-116 overall record.
The Cougars fired Dana Holgorsen after a 4-8 season. Holgorsen went 31-28 over five seasons.
