Dana Holgorsen

Dana Holgorsen was hired in early November of 2024 and served as the Huskers' offensive coordinator and play-caller for the final three games of the regular season. Following the regular season, Holgorsen signed a two-year contract to be Nebraska's offensive coordinator.

Under Holgorsen’s direction, Nebraska improved on offense over the final three regular-season games of the 2024 season, highlighted by a 44-25 victory over Wisconsin on Nov. 23. In that game, Nebraska posted its highest point total since 2021, while its total offense (473), rushing offense (180) and passing offense (293) outputs were all the second-best of the 2024 season.

Holgorsen came to Nebraska following a 13-year head coaching career at West Virginia (2011-18) and Houston (2019-23). He owns a 92-69 record as a collegiate head coach and ranks No. 2 all-time at West Virginia in coaching victories and No. 5 on Houston’s all-time wins chart. Holgorsen went 61-41 in his eight years at West Virginia with a pair of 10-win seasons and seven bowl trips. At Houston, Holgorsen was 31-28 with three bowl appearances in five years.

In addition to being a successful head coach, Holgorsen boasts an impressive resume as an offensive coordinator. Holgorsen spent six seasons as an offensive coordinator at Texas Tech (2005-07), Houston (2008-09) and Oklahoma State (2010). In his six seasons as an FBS coordinator, Holgorsen’s offenses had an average national finish of second in passing offense, third in total offense and sixth in scoring offense. All six of the offenses Holgorsen has coordinated have ranked in the top three nationally in passing, the top six in total offense and the top 13 in scoring offense.

Holgorsen has coached more than 20 All-Americans and 50 NFL Draft picks, including five top-10 picks. His players have won major national awards such as the Biletnikoff, Paul Hornung, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm and Jet awards. Holgorsen also coached the only two players to be a two-time winner of the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver.

Individuals have excelled in Holgorsen’s offenses. In his 19 seasons as an offensive coordinator or head coach, nine quarterbacks have had a 3,000-yard passing season with a total of 15 individual seasons with 3,000 or more passing yards. Holgorsen has also coached six quarterbacks who have had a 4,000-yard passing season and two who have had a 5,000-yard passing season. There have also been 18 individual 1,000-yard receiving seasons and six individual 1,000-yard rushing seasons in Holgorsen’s 19 seasons as an offensive coordinator or head coach.

Holgorsen coached the all-time FBS leader in touchdown passes and total offense along with the FBS season record holder in completions. He was the coordinator for two of the top four passing offenses in FBS history. Holgorsen’s receivers thrived, posting seasons where they ranked second in FBS history in touchdown receptions and third in receiving yards.

BEFORE NEBRASKA
HOUSTON: Holgorsen was Houston’s head coach for five seasons from 2019 to 2023. He posted a 31-28 record with the Cougars, ranking fifth in school history in wins. Houston made three bowl games in his five seasons, with Holgorsen becoming just the second coach in program history to win multiple bowl games.

Houston made it to a bowl game in Holgorsen’s second season in 2020. The following season, the Cougars played in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game, defeated Auburn in the Birmingham Bowl and finished with a 12-2 record and a No. 17 final ranking. The 12 victories ranked third in school history and Houston finished with a top 20 final ranking for just the third time in 30 seasons.

Holgorsen led Houston to eight wins in 2022 and a second consecutive bowl victory to give the Cougars bowl wins in back-to-back seasons for just the second time in more than 40 years. In his final season at Houston in 2023, the Cougars posted a 4-8 record in their first season in the Big 12 Conference, posting the second-best finish of the four new additions to the league.

Statistically, Houston ranked in the top 15 nationally in scoring offense in two of Holgorsen’s five seasons. In 2021, the Cougars were one of only six teams nationally to rank in the top 20 in both scoring offense and defense.

Individually, quarterback Clayton Tune ranked in the top 25 nationally in passing three straight seasons, finishing third in school history with 11,996 career passing yards and second with 104 touchdown passes. All-American Nathaniel Dell led the nation in receiving yards (1,398) and receiving touchdowns (17) in 2022 and finished third in school history with 32 career touchdown receptions. On the ground, running back Alton McCaskill ranked 10th nationally in rushing touchdowns in 2021.That same season, Marcus Jones won the Paul Hornung Award.

WEST VIRGINIA: Holgorsen’s first head coaching job was at West Virginia, where he guided the Mountaineers to a 61-41 record in eight seasons from 2011 to 2018, including 10 wins over ranked opponents.

His 61 victories in Morgantown rank second in program history, trailing only Hall of Fame Coach Don Nehlen. Holgorsen led West Virginia to a winning record in seven of his eight seasons with seven bowl appearances. The Mountaineers were ranked in at least one weekly poll in seven of his eight seasons, including appearing in the top 10 in 2012, 2016 and 2018.

Holgorsen had an impressive debut season as a head coach in 2011. West Virginia finished with a 10-3 record, a Big East Conference championship and a No. 17 final ranking. The Mountaineers ended the year with a 70-33 Orange Bowl victory over No. 14 Clemson, setting an FBS record for the most points scored in a bowl game. West Virginia ranked sixth nationally in passing offense, 13th in scoring offense and 15th in total offense.

Holgorsen led West Virginia back to a bowl game the next season when the Mountaineers climbed to as high as No. 5 in the AP poll. Following 4-8 record in 2013, West Virginia went 7-6 in 2014 when the Mountaineers ranked ninth nationally in passing. Holgorsen posted an 8-5 record with a bowl victory in 2015.

In 2016, the Mountaineers went 10-3 and finished the season ranked 18th. West Virginia ranked fourth nationally in passing offense, eighth in total offense and 10th in scoring. Holgorsen was named the 2016 AFCA District 4 Regional Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year award. Holgorsen’s 2017 squad finished with a 7-6 record. In his final season at West Virginia in 2018, the Mountaineers climbed to as high as No. 6 in the AP poll before finishing with a No. 20 ranking following an 8-4 campaign.

Individually, quarterback Geno Smith ended his career as West Virginia’s all-time leader in total offense, passing yards, passing completions and passing touchdowns. Smith led the nation in touchdown passes (42) and ranked third nationally in passing yards (4,205) in 2012 before he was selected in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Another Holgorsen pupil, Will Grier, left with the best passing efficiency rating in Mountaineer history. Grier ranked in the top 10 nationally in passing yards per game, passing touchdowns and passing efficiency in both 2017 and 2018. He was a third-round NFL Draft pick in 2019.

Holgorsen coached the three receivers with the most career touchdown receptions in West Virginia history. Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey also rank first and second, respectively, in career receptions at West Virginia. In 2011, Austin led the nation in all-purpose yards (2,574) and ranked seventh in receptions (101). In 2012, Bailey led the country with 25 touchdown receptions, a total that is tied with Randy Moss for the second-most season touchdown receptions in FBS history. Bailey also ranked third nationally in receptions per game and receiving yards per game in 2012.

Kevin White ranked third nationally in receptions (109) and sixth in receiving yards (1,447) in 2014 before he was taken with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. In 2016, Justin Crawford ranked sixth nationally in rushing yards per carry (7.3).

In his time in Morgantown, Holgorsen produced 10 All-Americans, including seven on offense.

OKLAHOMA STATE: Holgorsen spent the 2010 season as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Oklahoma State, helping the Cowboys to an 11-2 record and a No. 13 final ranking. The Cowboys ranked second nationally in passing offense (349.5 yards per game) and third in scoring (44.2 points per game) and total offense (520.2 yards per game). Those were huge improvements from the offense Holgorsen inherited, which ranked 99th in passing, 70th in total offense and 56th in scoring in 2009.

Oklahoma State had a 4,000-yard passer, a 1,500-yard receiver and a 1,500-yard rusher in Holgorsen’s lone season in Stillwater. Quarterback Brandon Weeden ranked fourth nationally in passing (4,277 yards) and Justin Blackmon led the nation in receptions per game (9.3) and ranked second in receiving yards per game (148.5) en route to winning the Biletnikoff Award. Running back Kendall Hunter ranked ninth nationally with 1,548 rushing yards.

Hunter and Blackmon were All-Americans in Holgorsen’s lone season on staff. Weeden and Blackmon were both first-round NFL Draft picks while Hunter was selected in the fourth round.

HOUSTON: Before he was Houston’s head coach, Holgorsen spent two seasons as the Cougars’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2008 and 2009. Houston ranked first or second nationally in passing offense and total offense in each of Holgorsen’s two seasons, while finishing in the top 10 in scoring offense both years. His offense helped the Cougars to an 18-9 record in his two seasons.

In his first season in 2008, Houston ranked second nationally in passing offense (401.6 yards per game), second in total offense (562.8 yards per game) and 10th in scoring (40.6 points per game). Case Keenum led the nation with 403.2 yards of total offense per game. Keenum ranked second nationally with 5,020 passing yards and 44 passing touchdowns, trailing Graham Harrell in both categories, whom Holgorsen had coached the previous season at Texas Tech.

In 2009, Houston won 10 games thanks to an offense that led the nation in passing (433.7 yards per game), total offense (563.4 yards per game) and scoring (42.2 points per game). An All-American, Keenum led the nation in total offense (416.4) and threw for 5,671 yards, a total that not only led the country but ranked fourth in FBS history. After two highly productive seasons under Holgorsen, Keenum finished his career as the all-time FBS leader in passing yards (19,217), touchdown passes (155) and total offense (20,144 yards).

TEXAS TECH: Holgorsen’s first FBS coaching job was at Texas Tech, where he spent eight seasons on Mike Leach’s staff. Holgorsen was the inside receivers coach for his first five seasons on staff. He retained that role while being promoted to co-offensive coordinator in 2005 then offensive coordinator for his final two seasons.

Holgorsen’s inside receivers helped Texas Tech average nearly 380 passing yards per game in his five seasons as the group’s position coach from 2000 to 2004. Texas Tech ranked in the top 11 nationally in passing yards in each of his five seasons coaching the inside receivers, including leading the country in passing in 2002, 2003 and 2004.

In his first season as Texas Tech’s co-offensive coordinator in 2005, Holgorsen’s offense led the country in passing (388.8 yards per game), ranked fourth in scoring (39.4 points per game) and sixth in total offense (495.8 yards per game). Cody Hodges ranked second nationally in passing yards (4,238) and total offense (4,429) while Joel Filani had more than 1,000 receiving yards.

In 2006, the Red Raiders ranked third nationally in passing offense (369.5 yards per game), sixth in total offense (447.9 yards per game) and 13th in scoring (32.4 points per game). In his first season as the starting quarterback, Graham Harrell ranked third nationally with 4,555 passing yards. Filani had his second straight 1,000-yard receiving season, ranking third nationally with 1,300 receiving yards and 91 receptions.

The offense was even better in 2007 when Texas Tech led the country in passing (470.3 yards per game), ranked second int total offense (529.6 yards per game) and seventh in scoring (40.9 points per game). Harrell led the country with 5,705 passing yards, a total that ranked third in FBS history. He also led the country with 48 touchdown passes.

Michael Crabtree won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver as a redshirt freshman, leading the nation with 134 catches, 1,962 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns. Those totals were all FBS freshman records, and his receiving yardage total still ranks third all-time in FBS history and is the highest ever by a Power Conference player. Crabtree ended his career ranked fourth in FBS history in receptions per game (8.9) and fifth in receiving yards per game (120.3). He went on to be a top-10 NFL Draft pick.

Danny Amendola also had a 1,000-yard receiving season in 2007, ranking ninth nationally with 1,245 yards. Amendola caught 109 passes, ranking fourth nationally in that category. He went on to a 13-year NFL career, amassing more than 600 receptions and 6,200 receiving yards.

Between Crabtree and Amendola, Holgorsen’s offense had two players with more than 100 receptions and 1,200 receiving yards in the same season.

WINGATE: Holgorsen spent the 1999 season as the quarterbacks and receivers coach at Wingate, a Division II program in North Carolina. In his lone season, quarterback Brian Baughman established a school record with 283 completions and 3,331 passing yards. Baughman was a semifinalist for the Harlan Hill Trophy as the Division II Player of the Year, while two of Holgorsen’s receivers ranked second and third nationally in receiving yards per game.

MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE: Holgorsen was the quarterbacks, receivers and special teams coach at Mississippi College for three seasons from 1996 to 1998. Receiver Vance Audry set school records in career receptions and career receiving yards while Matt Murphy ranked second in program history with 18 career touchdowns.

VALDOSTA STATE: Holgorsen began his coaching career working with the quarterbacks, receivers and special teams at Valdosta State for three seasons from 1993 to 1995 under head coach Hal Mumme. Holgorsen helped Valdosta State to an 11-win season and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs in 1994. That season, the Blazers set school records for completions (594) and passing yards (4,389).

PLAYING CAREER (IOWA WESLEYAN)
Holgorsen was a wide receiver at Iowa Wesleyan from 1990 to 1992, where Mike Leach was the offensive coordinator in 1990 and 1991.

PERSONAL
Holgorsen earned his bachelor’s degree from Iowa Wesleyan in 1993 and a master’s degree in health and physical education from Valdosta State in 1995. He has three children: McClayne, Logan and Karlyn.

COACHING CAREER
2024: Nebraska (Offensive Coordinator [Midseason Hire])
2019-23: Houston (Head Coach)
2011-18: West Virginia (Head Coach)
2010: Oklahoma State (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks)
2008-09: Houston (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks)
2005-07: Texas Tech (Offensive Coordinator/Inside Receivers)
2005: Texas Tech (Co-Offensive Coordinator/Inside Receivers)
2000-04: Texas Tech (Inside Receivers)
1999: Wingate (Quarterbacks/Receivers)
1996-98: Mississippi College (Quarterbacks/Receivers/Special Teams)
1993-95: Valdosta State (Quarterbacks/Receivers/Special Teams)