Top options for Houston's coaching vacancy

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Former coach Tom Herman is off to Texas, so the Houston job is open. According to reports, some high-profile candidates will interview for the position. The Cougars’ coaching job has been a launching pad for some coaches in the past and could be once again with a lot of talent on the team coming back next season.

Here is a breakdown of the Houston candidates and a take on each from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell

MORE: CFP: Top targets for each team

The good: Kiffin has re-energized his coaching career during three seasons as Alabama’s offensive coordinator, where he’s shown excellent play-calling ability and maturity leading the Crimson Tide to dominance in college football. Alabama coach Nick Saban vouched for Kiffin during the SEC Championship weekend, saying Kiffin has done a “phenomenal job” during his time in Tuscaloosa.

The bad: Kiffin has been horrible in head coaching spots before. He made it through only 20 games with the Oakland Raiders, going 5-15, and then went to Tennessee for only one season where he finished 7-6 but also openly accused then-Florida coach Urban Meyer of cheating in recruiting. Kiffin was 28-15 into his fourth season at USC but after a 62-41 loss at Arizona State Kiffin was fired in a room at LAX upon return to Los Angeles.

Farrell’s take: He would be a home run hire for them. The program has made its name through the years as an offensive-minded program with high scoring offenses and that’s what Kiffin can provide. He has matured enough to handle a job like that. He can handle a Power Five job, but I certainly think he could handle the Houston job, too.

The good: Miles is a winner. He won the 2007 national championship, two SEC titles and three SEC West crowns during his 11-year stint at LSU, where he finished 114-34. Miles had no losing seasons during his time in Baton Rouge. Prior to LSU, Miles spent four years at Oklahoma State where his only losing season was his first.

The bad: There are concerns about his offensive style since it’s so deliberate, so run-heavy and so conservative. It had become a major issue at LSU during the 2015 season when he was close to being fired, and then it turned out to be his demise when he was terminated after four games this season. Miles is also 63 years old.

Farrell’s take: He doesn’t really make sense for what Houston is going for. He’s a very good coach but he’s super conservative offensively. I don’t see it unless they want to change who they are. People are pretty much used to having Houston as that wide-open spread offense. Miles could change and he could hire the right offensive coordinator, but the fact that he didn’t at LSU even under tremendous fire leads me to believe he’s a stubborn guy and is going to run things his way. I don’t think that one makes a lot of sense even though he’s a good coach.

The good: As Houston’s offensive coordinator this season, Applewhite led the Cougars to an average of 38 points per game in a pass-happy offense where QB Greg Ward threw for 3,328 yards and 22 touchdowns and also rushed for 518 yards and nine scores. Another positive for Applewhite is that he has a resume similar to Herman’s with even more extensive experience at Texas, plus Applewhite played for the Longhorns.

The bad: Applewhite has no head coaching experience.

Farrell’s take: He’s done a good job there. Herman gets a lot of credit for what they do offensively, but Applewhite comes from a huge program, he’s coached at a huge program, he has a lot of experience at an offensive guy. The risk is you’re giving a guy an opportunity from coordinator to head coach, but that worked out for Tom Herman. I would take Kiffin because he’s had head coaching experience before, but with Kiffin comes all the other distractions and the maturity questions. With Applewhite comes experience. It would be a good fit.

The good: An old-school defensive-minded coach, Orlando has been phenomenal at his time in Houston, as the Cougars allowed 22.6 points per game this season and less than three yards per rush. Houston gave up 325 yards of offense per outing. Orlando is highly respected for his defensive mind, especially in difficult jobs like UConn, FIU and Utah State before coming to Houston.

The bad: Orlando was named interim coach for Houston’s bowl game after Herman left for Texas but he has no head coaching experience. There are no real in-state connections Orlando can speak of, either.

Farrell’s take: He’s an old-school guy. He’s a throwback defensive coordinator, no-nonsense guy. He worked for some very good coaches, worked up in Connecticut for a long time and is a very well-respected defensive coordinator. You would think the Houston job would go to an offensive-minded coach and that’s where they’ll lean first, but you couldn’t go wrong with a hire like Orlando as long as he got the right offensive coordinator.