I'd rather send one of the other offensive position coaches packing than eliminate the special teams coach position.
AFAIK that's not under consideration anymore. At least not something that will happen in the near future.
Apparently there's a 'duty to mitigate' clause in Holgorsen's contract with Houston that says he's supposed to try to get a new job that pays something like whatever his full market value as a coach is. Maybe the delay in announcing anything with him is just so that he can act like he was looking for another HC job but couldn't find one.
Paul Chryst supposedly turned down Cockeye for the OC job, as there are reports the job was his if he wanted it. He chose to stay on as an analyst at Texas, so there must be times when coaches definitely think the analyst route is better, or they may just need a break from coaching.
Also, Chryst had the same "duty to mitigate" clause in his Wisconsin buyout, but again, he chose the analyst route. It looks like he negotiated a significantly reduced buyout with Wisconsin, but I would say that is one situation that is quite close to Holgorsen.
Former head football coach Paul Chryst is to be paid of buyout of $11 million, no later than February 1, 2023, from private funds.
www.jsonline.com
"McIntosh told reporters Sunday night he and Chryst had agreed to a buyout significantly less than was called for in the contract.
The agreement is obviously good for UW.
But why would Chryst agree to take less money? Chryst was not available Monday but he had, under the terms of his contract, a duty to mitigate in the buyout section.
In short, if Chryst took a Division I coaching job or a job in pro football during the term of the liquidated damages, UW officials could deduct money from the buyout."
Could be possible that Holgorsen is still negotiating with Houston on what he could get from his buyout if he decided to take an analyst route vs. staying out of coaching for a year vs. getting a coordinator or lower level HC job. Could also be "stalling" to give the impression that he wasn't able to find another coaching option and the analyst position is his best option available, and thus the duty to mitigate was met?