West Virginia Football Must Look For A New Head Coach

The Dana Holgorsen era was ushered in with promise of success and a coach who’s capable of winning championships. Good old boy Bill Stewart was fired for a high energy Holgorsen. Little did everyone know, the West Virginia Mountaineers football program would fall flat on its face.

Stewart went 9-4 in his three seasons at the helm of the Mountaineers, yet fans were demanding a change as they were used to 10 and 11 win seasons under Rich Rodriguez. Change is what they got. Holgorsen came in with a 10-3 record his first season at helm including a 70-33 drubbing over Clemson University. Since then, the Mountaineers have accomplished nothing, literally nothing.

After Holgorsen’s first year, the Mountaineers transitioned to the Big 12 Conference in 2012, full of many more elite teams than the old Big East. Holgorsen had the Mountaineers at No. 5 in the country before losing five straight and finishing 7-6. In 2013,the Mountaineers posted a 4-8 overall record and a 7-6 record in 2014. That’s far from championship caliber.

Fast forward to this season and the Mountaineers sit at 3-3, losing three straight. Rumors are swirling about a potential change in leadership, as they should. Holgorsen had never been a head coach prior to West Virginia. He bounced around the Big 12 as an offensive coordinator, developing quarterbacks who were already recruited when he got there. In Morgantown, Holgorsen has shown no improvement through any season, but continues to hold onto his job as the Mountaineers typically upset at least one top 25 program per season.

Holgorsen’s contract has two years remaining after the 2015 season, with no buyout in the deal. West Virginia will have to pony up a large amount of money to release Holgorsen and his crew and then afford to bring in a new coach. Most coaches generally like to have more than two years remaining on a contract to boost their recruiting, showing there is stability in the program. West Virginia athletic director Shane Lyons is in his first year in Morgantown and has a big decision. He can either extend Holgorsen to provide stability, or cut ties and start over with a coach of his own. Big money donors will have to step up, and West Virginia fans will have to potentially deal with a few more years of getting blasted in the Big 12. If Mountaineer fans weren’t happy with 9-4 seasons under Stewart, they shouldn’t settle for horrible seasons under Holgorsen, especially in year five of an era.

West Virginia needs to start over and stop the bleeding. There are many coaches out there at smaller schools chomping at the bit to take over a Big 12 program and an historical program such as West Virginia. The Mountaineers need to hire a guy to restore the excitement back in Morgantown. They need someone who can restore the faith, lead West Virginia to a Big 12 championship and place them in the hunt for a national title.