COMMENTARY
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — As Dana Holgorsen swaps country roads for Houston tollways, let’s ruminate on his West Virginia legacy:
Eight (years) is enough
That was ample time for Holgorsen to put his stamp on the program, to build an identity, to prove himself as a recruiter. Results were middling.
His 61 wins were one more than Rich Rodriguez and second only to Don Nehlen’s 149 in program history, yet his .598 winning percentage doesn’t crack the top 10 among WVU coaches who served multiple seasons.
He won a three-way share of the Big East title in 2011 and doused Clemson 70-33 in the Orange Bowl. That night in Miami became the pinnacle of Holgorsen’s tenure as West Virginia never finished higher than third in seven Big 12 seasons. Five times it finished fifth place our worse.
Presuming West Virginia remains in next week’s season-ending AP poll, this will become Holgorsen’s third top-25 finish, with that No. 17 ranking in 2011 the high-water mark.
“My goal is to win a national championship at West Virginia University,” said Oliver Luck upon hiring Holgorsen in December 2010.
Obviously that mission never came close to materializing.
On-the-job training
Holgorsen walked into a bungled coach-in-waiting agreement orchestrated by then-AD Oliver Luck. Yet Holgorsen made an awkward situation even weirder when he was asked to leave a Cross Lanes casino for being drunk. Sitting head coach Bill Stewart — clearly displeased by Luck’s arranged marriage — reportedly tipped off a reporter that Holgorsen had committed other such transgressions.
Luck acknowledged Holgorsen’s “inappropriate behavior” at the casino but pressured Stewart into resigning, seeing that a year-long co-existence was untenable. While Holgorsen’s rise from offensive coordinator to head coach was expedited, he struggled to build a staff that shared his vision. His first four seasons saw heavy turnover among assistants.
Holgorsen also was lukewarm toward fans and donors in his early years, needing time to realize the demands of the head-coaching job far exceeded X’s and O’s. More recently, his ambassador skills improved and he was encouraged to join Jeff Hostetler’s Foundation in raising millions for the WVU Children’s Hospital.
School sources say he also curbed his public drinking and better understood his role as the face of the program.
Inability to recruit quarterbacks
He inherited Geno Smith, and found Will Grier on the waiver wire, but the struggle to lure quality high school quarterbacks became Holgorsen’s curious dilemma. Even members of his own staff wondered how long the transfer model could sustain itself.
A look at the high school recruits West Virginia signed under Holgorsen at the game’s most important position:
Paul Millard (2011)
Ford Childress (2012)
Chavas Rawlins (2013)
William Crest (2014)
David Sills (2015)
Chris Chugunov (2015)
Cody Saunders (2016)
Trey Lowe (2018)
Winning with Skyler Howard
We can’t criticize Holgorsen’s inability to land a high school stud without crediting him for going 19-6 with Howard under center.
The undersized kid with the oversized chip on his shoulder wasn’t built for the Air Raid, so Holgorsen dove headfirst into the realm of QB power and RPOs. That offensive overhaul showed Holgorsen’s ability to adapt.
The daredevil persona wasn’t accurate
Holgorsen arrived at WVU touting an uptempo system akin to “basketball on grass” and a penchant for fourth-down gambles. Yet his willingness to run the ball branched off from the Mike Leach tree, and Holgorsen evolved from a stats-chaser to a game manager.
The 2-point try at Texas was memorable, but it’s not my favorite call of his tenure. That would be the third-and-22 draw Wendell Smallwood took for 24 yards against Arizona State in the Cactus Bowl.
Recruiting didn’t see Big 12 boost
Along with his offensive acumen, Holgorsen was brought in to boost West Virginia’s recruiting. That didn’t happen, even though the Mountaineers suddenly carried the draw of playing in a Power 5 conference.
Across the 10 years preceding his arrival, West Virginia’s classes averaged a ranking of 37.9 nationally, per Rivals. In eight years under Holgorsen, that average ranking dipped to 41st.
Rich Rodriguez signed WVU’s best-ever class, ranked No. 23 in 2007. Holgorsen’s best class peaked at 25th in 2013, but he twice produced classes that ranked outside the top 50.
Red River results
He went 4-3 against Texas (albeit during one of the Longhorns’ doldrum periods), but Holgorsen whiffed against Oklahoma (0-7). The final loss in that series, 59-56 on Nov. 23, cost West Virginia its first legit chance at a Big 12 title.
And against his former employer?
Holgorsen finished 2-5 against Oklahoma State, a program by which West Virginia can be reasonably measured. That included a four-year losing streak that culminated in a 45-41 heartbreaker on Nov. 17.
West Virginia led by 17 points at halftime of that game, which could’ve clinched a trip to the Big 12 championship and made Holgorsen more secure about his fate at WVU.
Poorly executed exit
lt can’t match Rich Rodriguez’s departure for pure, unadulterated nastiness, but Holgorsen made a poor decision by cutting off communications with his AD in recent days. More telling: He also went dark on his assistants, leaving the colleagues he hired twisting in the wind.
That’s hardly the brand of a trusted leader.
Let’s just call the whole thing off
He guzzled Red Bulls, fired a few press conference zingers and tackled a motorized dummy. He could be fun or cranky, depending on whether you were asking about outlaw country music or questioning his play-calling. But Holgorsen never elevated the program anywhere near the peak seasons that Nehlen and Rodriguez enjoyed.
Nor did he run it off the rails.
That’s how you last eight years at West Virginia without getting fired or being considered for elite jobs.