Nearly 24 hours after it was first reported, the filling of Tulane’s vacancy at head coach has become official.
The Green Wave confirmed Saturday evening that Willie Fritz has been hired as the football program’s 40th head coach. Fritz replaces Curtis Johnson, who was fired following the end of the 2015 season.
A press conference has been scheduled for Tuesday at noon ET to introduce Fritz.
“Willie was our number one target of this coaching search from the day it began,” Troy Dannen said in a statement. “We attracted significant interest from around the country but after meeting with the candidates it was clear Willie was the right fit for our institution and our football program. He has rebuilt three football programs and led each of those programs into national prominence at their respective level. In his 23 years as a head coach, Willie has an established track record of producing quality men, high academic achievements and great competitive success.”
“I am very excited about the opportunity to lead the Tulane football program and be a part of such a prestigious academic institution,” Fritz said. “New Orleans and the surrounding areas are a hotbed for high school football and I look forward to the challenge of building Tulane into a consistent winner.
“I was very impressed with Troy and Barbara during the interviews and I truly believe in their vision of what can be accomplished at Tulane. I would like to thank Troy, Barbara and President (Mike) Fitts for this tremendous opportunity. I would also like to thank the administration and fans at Georgia Southern for the opportunity to coach at that school as well.”
Fritz was in the midst of his second season at Georgia Southern, where he compiled a 17-7 record that included an 8-4 mark in 2015. He has 193 career wins at the collegiate level, which is tied with Kansas State’s Bill Snyder for fourth-most among active head coaches.
With Fritz’s hiring, there are now four open FBS head-coaching jobs: BYU, East Carolina, Louisiana-Monroe and, of course, Georgia Southern.
