When he accepted the title of interim head coach for the Houston Cougars on Dec. 10, Tony Levine said it wasn't the time or place for him to campaign for the permanent job.

The emotions he displayed contradicted his words, even when he repeated those words a week later. But Levine doesn't have to campaign now. The job is his.

UH athletic director Mack Rhoades named the 39-year-old Levine the Cougars' head coach Wednesday, ending a 12-day national search to fill the void left by former coach Kevin Sumlin, who took the same post at Texas A&M.

"Before we began this process, we talked about the characteristics we wanted in the leader of our football program, and Tony embodies each of those qualities," Rhoades said. "We spoke with former players, current student-athletes, and interviewed some of the top football coaches in the country, and all of our talks led us right back to Tony."

Levine, who joined the staff with Sumlin in 2008, has served in a variety of roles since joining the Cougars. He has been the team's special teams coordinator, inside receivers coach and tight ends coach since his arrival. The last two seasons, he held the title of assistant head coach.

His 16 years of coaching experience includes stints at the high school, college and NFL levels. He spent two seasons with the Carolina Panthers before joining UH and was a receiver for the University of Minnesota from 1991-95. His college coaching career includes stops at Auburn, Louisiana Tech, Louisville and Texas State.

The Cougars interviewed or expressed interest in several candidates in their search, including UH co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach Jason Phillips, Louisiana Tech head coach Sonny Dykes, Oklahoma State assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Joe DeForest, Boise State offensive coordinator Brent Pease and former North Carolina interim coach and newly minted Ohio State co-defensive coordinator and assistant head coach Everett Withers.

Hire is close to home

Melissa Phillip

Ultimately, they chose Levine, who has been part of 35 wins in the last four seasons at UH.

"I'm both humbled and excited to have this opportunity to lead the Houston football program and continue my work with our student-athletes and staff," Levine said. "This is a dream come true for me and my family. We love Houston and I'm proud to say that Houston is our home. When you have the opportunity to lead a program, it has to be more than a job. Houston is a destination spot. Continuing to build this program is a personal challenge because this place means so much to us."

Special teams success

Under Levine's guidance, UH has excelled on special teams. Senior Tyron Carrier tied the NCAA career record for kickoff returns for touchdowns, the team as a whole has returned eight kickoffs for scores (second most in the last four years) and they've blocked 18 kicks in that span. The Cougars have tied or broken seven NCAA records in the last four years.

The St. Paul, Minn., native will lead the Cougars into their match with Penn State in the TicketCity Bowl on Jan. 2 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. He'll be formally introduced at a news conference at 10 a.m. Thursday.

"We consistently talk about building a program and building upon our culture here at UH and when you have the perfect fit right here on staff, you feel fortunate," Rhoades said. "But we still wanted to do our due diligence. We talked to some great folks ... but the best fit for UH is Tony Levine."

sam.khan@chron.com

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