A day after West Virginia hired Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen as head coach-in-waiting, athletic director Oliver Luck took to the podium to explain the future of the Mountaineers’ football program.
Luck, who is in his first year as WVU’s athletic director, made it clear as to why he made the moves he did.
“I didn’t believe that we had an opportunity to win a national championship with the direction that we were headed in,” Luck said. “At the end of the day, results matter, and we weren’t getting the results.”
Holgorsen will join the WVU staff as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach next season and will replace current WVU head coach Bill Stewart in 2012.
Despite Stewart’s 28-11 career record, Luck said the move was necessitated by a changing Big East Conference, which added TCU earlier this year.
“I expect us to compete at the highest levels, and in order for us to do that, we have win Big East championships,” Luck said. “When I look out on the horizon, I look at a rapidly rising Big East with the addition of TCU. The addition of TCU will raise the bar in the Big East.”
Luck’s pursuit of Holgorsen began shortly after the Mountaineers’ losses to Syracuse and Connecticut in October.
One day following a 37-10 win at home against Cincinnati Nov. 13, Luck sat down along with Stewart, the coach’s advisor and a committee to discuss the third-year head coach’s future.
“At that point coach Stewart was informed that I was not satisfied with the direction the program was headed and changes would be made,” Luck said.
At the meeting, Luck presented Stewart with two options.
The first called for Stewart to resign immediately following the season or for Stewart to resign following the 2011 season.
“The decision was mine,” Luck said. “It was made at the conclusion of the season.”
In the time between the meeting with Stewart, Luck set out to find the next head coach at WVU.
While at a ceremony for the induction of Jerry West into the College Basketball Hall of Fame, Luck first made contact with Holgorsen.
“I first met Dana on Nov. 23, but I knew of him, of course, from when I was in Houston,” Luck said. “I was in Kansas City, and I went to visit with him. I made a visit to talk with a coach that I thought was one of the best offensive coaches in the nation.”
After the conclusion of the season, Holgorsen – whose name was mentioned in the search for the head coaching position at Pittsburgh – made a day trip to visit with Luck and to tour the University’s facilities.
Shortly thereafter, Holgorsen agreed to terms to replace current offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen during the 2011 season and become the head coach in 2012.
Prior to this agreement taking place, Luck did an expansive study on programs that were in a similar situation with a head coach-in-waiting.
“I spent some time looking at various transition models in our college football industry,” Luck said. “Two models that I looked at were Oregon and Wisconsin, which were very successful. If you look at both of those programs, they are two of the most successful programs in the nation.”
Moving forward, Luck expects Stewart and Holgorsen to make the transition a smooth and professional one.
“Because of Coach Stewart’s professionalism, I have all the confidence in the world that our transition year will work very smoothly,” Luck said. “I would like to thank Bill Stewart for what he is doing for the West Virginia football program. He took over at a very challenging time back in 2007, and he acted like a consummate professional.”
With Stewart’s tenure as head coach set to end at the conclusion of the 2011 season, he will then be assigned to an administrative role in the athletic department.
“We have an agreement that we will sit and talk at the appropriate time and see what coach Stewart would like to do,” Luck said. “We have not gone over the specifics with him.”