In August of 2012, West Virginia announced that it had reached an agreement with Dana Holgorsen that would extend the head football coach’s contract through the 2017 season. Three seasons have come and gone since without any type of extension; based on recent developments, an extension still isn’t in the offing, which will in turn once again raise questions about the coach’s future with the program.
According to a report from Mike Casazza and Mitch Vingle of the Charleston Daily Mail, negotiations on a new contract for Holgorsen have, at least for now, come to an end. WV MetroNews writes that “it appears WVU will be cautious with Holgorsen, perhaps offering a salary-neutral two-year rollover with a buyout attached.”
Coaches often cite recruiting as the overriding factor in seeking a contract extension. Job security, or the lack thereof, for Holgorsen reportedly led to one of his assistants bolting for a job at Virginia Tech this past week.
“There will be no change in Dana’s contract at this time,” WVU athletic director Shane Lyons told the Daily Mail. “We’ll now turn our attention to the 2016 season and hope to continue the momentum from the Cactus Bowl win and successful signing day.”
Lyon’s added, in comments posted to MetroNews’ website, "[y]ou’ve got to be fair looking at coaches and the market if you want to compete at this level, but you’ve got to ask yourself what’s the institution’s risk and their liability.”
Holgorsen is 35-28 in five seasons with the Mountaineers. Against Big 12 foes, however, Holgorsen is just 15-21. Since going 10-3 in the final season in the Big East in 2011, WVU is a mere 26-25 the last four seasons.
As rumors swirled surrounding Holgorsen’s future in Morgantown, Lyons announced back in December that the head coach would return. As there’s no resolution -- or extension -- in sight, expect the speculation to ramp up exponentially if the Mountaineers struggle coming out of the 2016 gate.