Held the same jobs at OU, Rice, and Texas-Arlington.
Thoughts?
Nah, he’s the head coach at UT-Arlington. He’s a long-time assistant with tours at OU, Rice and McNeese. He did a pretty good recruiting job at OU, but his HC stint was pretty mediocre.
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Ah, I see.
So as a recruiter, how did he do at OU and Rice?
Hmmmm….surprised UTA let him go after two years. No worse than the previous coach that had ten years. UTA improved by 14 games his first season playing .500 ball and were 10 games under .500 last year but they actually played a decent non-conference schedule. Good baseball name in Texas. His dad was a major league scout. Clay’s a solid recruiter with great Texas ties. Families from Brenham and he played at UT.
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Actually after reading this article it looks like he left UTA for UH on his own. Did someone pony up some coin to attract him or was he maybe promised something after this season?
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Yeah, I’m wondering the same thing.
I think he’s pretty well-regarded around the state, but this has the feel of an audition for a new head coaching job. He almost certainly wouldn’t get the job in an open competition based on his resume.
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But why would Whitting hire someone as his potential replacement?
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Maybe he’s a friend and he’s not worried about it. Maybe he’s planning to leave anyway and wants to set a buddy up.
Every assistant is a potential replacement, yet they’re hired all the time. This isn’t a thing head coaches worry about.
I highly doubt all of that.
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I read somewhere his son having access to the med center played a significant role in the move.
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When Kivett was made associate HC, some thought he was being groomed to be the next HC. It has happened elsewhere, but UHBB has never promoted a current AC or associate HC to HC. When the long-overdue time finally comes, they’ll bring in someone else (Sean Allen?), and that guy will bring in his own assistants.
That’s a big factor. That and a pay raise made it a no brainer.
That’s a compelling rebuttal. 
If a head coach only hires guys who he thinks can’t be head coaches, he’ll get the expected results.
The question posed was why the guy took the job. I was spitballing - guess I should just sit around and highly doubt.
You said every assistant is a potential head coach. Sure. But I don’t believe that head coaches are hiring assistants in order to groom them to take their jobs; unless they’re at Sampson or Fritz’s stage in their careers. I think Whitting believes that he still has a lot left in the tank.
I don’t know what to think about this hire yet. I am not sure why a guy would leave his head coaching position at UTA so he could be an assistant at the worst team in the Big 12. He had one really good run at OU, when they made it to the championship. However, I would not say he is a great recruiter. His best player at UTA, Ryan Black, left for Georgia so he didn’t have much left at UTA. That is a hard job but I don’t know about abandoning your team for an assistant job right before school starts. I am sure there was no guarantee that he would get the job when TW gets fired. He is not even the best assistant on the staff. It is just a big head scratcher to me right now.
The timing for him leaving is what caught my attention. It’s weird.
Given the timing and our current situation, it seems like a decent hire.
Wait, he was the head coach over there?
Yes, he was the head coach and he wasn’t fired, he quit.
I am told there are some family issues with Van Hook and that is why he decided to go after the Houston recruiting coordinator job.