FORT WORTH, Texas — Houston and Pittsburgh are in the Armed Forces Bowl without the head coaches that led them during the regular season.

With one coach fired and the other returning home for a job, both sidelines today will have interim coaches who are unlikely to stay after the bowl.

“You put all the circumstances behind you and you’re a football coach, and it is what it is and you do your job,” said Houston interim coach David Gibbs, the team’s defensive coordinator. “The kids, they look for leadership. They want to be coached.”

Pitt interim coach Joe Rudolph, the Panthers’ offensive coordinator, said the job for the interims is “to make sure it’s all about the players.”