The confirmations of Dana Holgorsen moving from Oklahoma State to West Virginia are now pouring out at a prodigious clip, all but assuring what began as mere speculation is all but a done deal.
Both Tulsa World and the Charleston Daily Mail are reporting that Holgorsen is expected to become the Mountaineers’ offensive coordinator for the 2011 season, then take over as head coach in 2012 after Bill Stewart steps down.
The Daily Mail also reports that Holgorsen and athletic director Oliver Luck worked out the arrangement last week and are working toward finalizing the specifics of a contract. There does appear to be some dispute regarding Stewart, however; the Charleston Gazette reported that Stewart would accept an arrangement that included Holgorsen as a coach-in-waiting, while the Daily Mail writes that “Stewart is not comfortable with having an offensive coordinator forced upon him and could resist working with a coach-in-waiting.”
CFT can also confirm that the parameters of a deal are in place with Holgorsen, and that Stewart is indeed “very pissed off” as to how this went down — i.e. the involvement of boosters and months-long back-room dealings — and, as of this morning, was resisting having a coach-in-waiting foisted upon him.
It would seem that any resistance on the part of Stewart would be futile given the spate of reports and whispers coming out of Morgantown, however, and could expedite the current head coach’s move to another position within the athletic department, where the Daily Mail writes Stewart is headed once he steps down following the 2011 season. It should be noted that this is not a done deal with Holgorsen and there’s certainly a chance it could far through, but “it’d take an unexpected setback” according to the people we’ve spoken with.
Finally, the Austin American-Statesman is reporting that Holgorsen will sign a six-year deal with WVU — one year as offensive coordinator, then five years as head coach.
Bye Bye Gomer!!!
Love it. Had the 3rd best offense this year, pair that with the 2nd (i think) overall defense. Should be a good combo. Also a fan of his general hard-ass demeanor, as indicated, Coach Stew seems to be a swell guy …. but a push over. We need a recruiting stud with a backbone to get WVU back into the annual BCS discussion.
I must need a new dictionary. How exactly do you ‘far through’ ???
If this is ture, and I reiterate, if this is true, WVU should be ashamed of itself. You don’t do backroom deals when you have a head coach in place. You certainly don’t hire an OC for him without his approval. May be a great hire, may not be. One thing I can guranatee you, next time they go looking for a head coach they won’t get anybody worth a lick unless there is a new AD at the school. No HC with options is going to work for a guy like that. Last time something like this happened the coach got the last laugh. Just ask the Auburn AD and President who wound up getting fired before the coach did.
noaxetogrind, you haven’t had to suffer the indignity of having Stewart as your coach. He’s the nicest person to ever draw a breath, but what he’s done to the football program is more than enough reason to force him out. It might seem unfair, but so does only winning a share of this season’s weak ass Big East, losing to Syracuse and UConn (both of whom are improving, but shouldn’t beat a team with our talent level), and having him keep Jeff Mullen at OC. In context, this is entirely justified.
Amen, inconsonance. Plus, Stewart is getting to earn out the balance of his contract. He’ll make more money “retired” than he had made in his entire career.
I also like the fact that Luck went with a guy who really has no ties to the school or the state…he went out and got what he thought was the best guy.
Considering how tight knit WV is, having a coach with ties to the state isn’t a bad thing. Well, it isn’t a bad thing until you have to force them out. That feels kind of traitorous and dirty to do to one of our own, but college football is a business and unsuccessful businesses aren’t worth much.