Houston fires head coach Tony Levine

Tony Levine has officially been relieved of his duties as Houston's football coach, the team announced on Monday.

Levine just completed his third season at UH, leading the Cougars to a 7-5 record in 2014 and 21-17 overall, including 14-10 in conference games.

Defensive coordinator David Gibbs will serve as the interim head coach until a replacement is hired.

Athletic director Mack Rhoades released the following statement:

Coach Levine and I met several times throughout the season, and again late last night, to discuss the state of the program. Last night I informed him we will be moving in a different direction with our football programs. Coach Levine is an outstanding leader and over the last three years he has demonstrated great commitment to our student-athletes and has been an outstanding role model for our young men. He has left the program in a better situation than it was when he inherited it. Although we are excited to play in our second straight bowl game, the expectations of our program have changed over the last five years with the opening of TDECU Stadium and the current college football landscape. At this time we will begin the search process for the 14th head coach in Houston Football history and will not comment further until the search is concluded.