Major Applewhite Major Lee Applewhite ( born July 26 , 1978 ) was the Co - Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach for the University of Texas . Prior to Texas , Applewhite served as offensive coordinator at Rice University under Todd Graham in 2006 , and at the University of Alabama under Nick Saban in 2007 . He was the youngest offensive coordinator among Division I - A schools at that time . Applewhite was previously the quarterbacks coach at Syracuse University in 2005 . Prior to coaching , he was a college football quarterback for the Texas Longhorns from 1998 to 2001 and set 8 school records . Many of these still stand , including the longest pass play ( 97 yards ) , consecutive passes without an interception ( 156 ) and most yards passing in a game ( 473 ) . He previously held the record for career yards ( 8 , 353 ) . Playing career . Applewhite was a quarterback for the Texas Longhorns from 1998 to 2001 . Recruited from Catholic High School in Baton Rouge , Louisiana by then Texas coach John Mackovic , he was later coached by Mack Brown . While at Texas , the undersized Applewhite ' s tenure was noted both for his often gritty heroics as well as his battle for playing time with the heralded blue chip recruit Chris Simms , son of New York Giants legend Phil Simms . Applewhite led Texas to two Big 12 Championship games , to victory in 2 Bowl games , and set 48 school records along the way . After redshirting the 1997 season , an injury by starting quarterback Richard Walton catapulted Applewhite into the starting job two games into his redshirt freshman season . He went 8 - 2 as a starter , including upsets of # 7 University of Nebraska 20 - 16 , which broke the Cornhuskers ' 47 home game winning streak , and # 6 Texas A & M . In a blowout victory over Oklahoma , Applewhite threw a 97 yard touchdown pass to Wane McGarity , the longest pass in Texas history . He capped the season by leading the Longhorns to a 38 - 11 victory over Mississippi in the Cotton Bowl . It was Texas ' first Cotton Bowl victory since 1982 . In 1999 , Applewhite started almost every game , leading Texas to a 9 - 4 record , a Big 12 South Championship and the Cotton Bowl . Going into the Texas A & M game ( the so - called Bonfire Game , as it followed the tragic death of 12 students during construction of A & Ms annual bonfire ) , Texas was ranked # 5 , but the night before the game , Applewhite got an intestinal virus that kept him up all night and required him to be put on an IV the next day . As a result , backup freshman Chris Simms got his first career start and had the Longhorns up 16 - 6 at halftime . After Simms struggled in the 2nd half he was replaced by Applewhite in the 4th quarter , but Applewhite was unable to produce . Texas fell behind in the last 6 minutes and Applewhite fumbled on their last possession . That was followed by losses to Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship game and to Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl . Applewhite suffered a knee injury in the 4th quarter of the Cotton Bowl and was replaced by Simms . The next season Applewhite was again the starter , but after a loss to Stanford in the 2nd game , Simms was given the start the following game against Houston . Simms struggled early and Applewhite got the majority of the snaps in what turned out to be a rout , thus regaining the starting job . He lost it again following a season - ending knee injury in the Texas Tech game . At that point Texas was 7 - 2 and ranked # 19 . Texas went 2 - 1 with Simms as quarterback , and Mack Brown was impressed enough to name Simms the starter before spring practice began . Applewhite was the backup for Simms for the entirety of the 2001 regular season and Simms led Texas to a # 3 ranking and a trip to the Big 12 Championship against # 10 Colorado . But in that game Applewhite got the opportunity to go out as a starter and a hero . Because of an upset loss by Florida earlier in the day , Texas went into that game knowing that a win would put them in the BCS Championship Game . But Simms had a disastrous game and was responsible for four turnovers ( three interceptions and a fumble ) in the first half of play . Meanwhile , Major was seen attempting to rally the offense before they took to the field , even as the restless Texas fans booed Simms . Two plays later , Simms injured his finger and Applewhite entered the game with Texas down 29 - 10 . His second pass was completed for a 79 yard touchdown and he baited the University of Colorado bench in an attempt to rally the Texas fans . He led Texas back to within 2 points , but eventually Texas would come up short losing 39 - 37 after an onside kick attempt failed . His near miracle comeback , combined with Simms ' injury , earned him the starting position for his final game at Texas , the 2001 Holiday Bowl and he didn ' t disappoint . In perhaps his finest game , he led Texas from behind three times throwing for a school record 473 yards and four touchdowns . In a fourth quarter aerial assault , Texas scored 23 points in a little over 10 minutes to take the lead , but Washington would come back to take the lead once more . With 1 : 49 left in the game , Applewhite engineered a 7 play , 80 yard touchdown drive with passes of 25 and 37 yards to win the game . He was named the Holiday Bowl MVP as a result . He finished with a record as a starter of 22 - 8 . Applewhite played in the 2001 Hula Bowl . After graduation , Applewhite was signed by the New England Patriots days after the 2002 draft , but quit prior to the start of camp to finish his degree and to pursue a career in coaching . College coaching career . Returning to Texas as a graduate assistant , Applewhite served in that position until early 2005 when he was offered the position of quarterbacks coach at Syracuse University by new head coach Greg Robinson , Texas ' former defensive coordinator . Applewhite ' s first coaching job was a disaster , with the Orange going 1 - 10 , their worst record in school history ( after 6 - 6 the year before ) and scoring their fewest points in more than 20 years ( from 22 . 8 points in 2004 to 13 . 8 points in 2005 ) . On January 8 , 2006 , after one year at Syracuse , Rice University named Applewhite offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under new head coach Todd Graham . Graham said of Applewhite ' s expected contribution to the new staff , " We want to spread the field and throw the football , and every quarterback and receiver in this state will be interested in Rice with Major as our offensive coordinator . " At Rice , Applewhite moved the team away from the wishbone offense and moved them to a more modern , one - running - back formation similar to that used by Texas . During his one season at Rice , the team posted a 7 – 6 record and attended its first bowl game in over forty years . After former Texas defensive coordinator Gene Chizik was hired as head coach at Iowa State University in December 2006 , Applewhite was rumored to be joining his coaching staff . Applewhite , however , officially announced on December 4 , 2006 , that he would not leave Rice for Iowa State . He did however leave Rice only a month later , not for Iowa State but for Alabama , as he accepted an offer by newly hired Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban to serve as the offensive coordinator . Given his ties to the Lone Star State , Applewhite targeted a couple of Texas high school prospects , including Lennon Creer . Alabama eventually received commitments by quarterback Nick Fanuzzi and defensive back Tarence Farmer . In his first season at Alabama , Applewhite improved the Crimson Tide offense , which averaged 22 . 3 points and 340 . 9 total yards per game under Dave Rader in 2006 , to an average of 26 . 8 points and 372 . 6 total yards per game in 2007 . Following a 41 - 17 blowout win over SEC rival Tennessee on October 20 , Applewhite was named " Offensive Coordinator of the Week . " Alabama , however , then lost the last four games of the season , including a shocking 21 - 14 loss to Louisiana - Monroe . During the 2007 season , Applewhite was mentioned as a possible replacement for Art Briles as head coach at the University of Houston . Briles had left Houston for Baylor University . Applewhite , however , withdrew his name from the candidates list . He was forced out at Alabama . On January 16 , 2008 , Applewhite accepted an offer to become running backs coach at the University of Texas and he also served as assistant head coach to Mack Brown . On January 6 , 2011 , Applewhite was announced as the co - offensive coordinator . The next day , Mack Brown announced that the primary play caller and other co - offensive coordinator would be Bryan Harsin from Boise State . On December 12 , 2012 , Harsin was named head coach at Arkansas State University . Applewhite assumed play calling duties at Texas and coached quarterbacks . He was co - offensive coordinator with wide receivers coach Darrell Wyatt . At the start of 2014 , following the hiring of new Texas head coach Charlie Strong Applewhite accepted a one - year severance package and stepped down as offensive coordinator with Texas . Personal . In early 2013 , Applewhite admitted he was disciplined by the University of Texas for " having an inappropriate relationship with a student at the 2009 Fiesta Bowl . "