Dana Holgorsen Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

AP Sources: WVU, Troy’s Neal Brown Close To Deal on Head Football Coach Job

West Virginia and Troy’s Neal Brown are completing a deal to make him the next coach of the Mountaineers, two people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Friday.

The people spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because the contract was not yet final. Brown would replace Dana Holgorsen, who this week left West Virginia to become Houston’s coach.

Yahoo! Sports first reported West Virginia and Brown were close to a deal.

The 38-year-old Brown has coached Troy since 2015 and is 35-16 at the Sun Belt Conference school. His teams have produced impressive performances against Power Five competition, winning at Nebraska this season and at LSU in 2017. The Trojans also lost 30-24 at Clemson in 2016, the season the Tigers won the national title.

Brown was offensive coordinator at Kentucky for two years before being hired at Troy as one of the youngest head coaches in FBS. Before his two-year stint with the Wildcats he served at offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Texas Tech (2010-12) and Troy (2008-09). He is part of the Air Raid offense tree that stems from former Kentucky coach Hal Mumme and Washington State coach Mike Leach. Brown played receiver at Kentucky under Mumme from 1998-2000.

Brown took over a Troy program that had a history of success under longtime coach Larry Blakeney but had regressed in the early 2010s. The Trojans went 4-8 under Brown in 2015 but have won double-digit games each season since. Troy won the Sun Belt in 2017 and went 20-3 in the conference over the last three seasons.

Holgorsen went 61-41 in eight seasons at West Virginia.

University of Houston Hires Coach Holgorsen Away from West Virginia

Houston hired West Virginia’s Dana Holgorsen as its coach Wednesday, ending his eight-year run with the Mountaineers.

Holgorsen was 61-41 and 33-30 in the Big 12 as he helped guide West Virginia through the transition from the Big East. Houston competes in the American Athletic Conference, which was formed from the remnants of Big East football after it was torn apart by realignment earlier this decade.

Holgorsen spent two seasons as Houston’s offensive coordinator in 2008-09, when it was in Conference USA, before serving a season in the same position under Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State in 2010.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dana back to Houston as the next leader of our football program. His offensive acumen with an emphasis on student-athlete development, on and off the field, is a perfect fit for our program, university and city,” athletic director Chris Pezman said.

Houston fired coach Major Applewhite on Sunday after two underwhelming seasons. Applewhite, who took a school-friendly deal in 2016 to replace Tom Herman, went 15-11.

Holgorsen is making a unique move, leaving a Power Five school for one outside the high revenue conferences. No coach has willingly made that move since the College Football Playoff was established in 2014.

But Holgorsen was in a tricky spot at West Virginia. He had probably has most talented team in Morgantown, West Virginia, this season. Led by quarterback Will Grier, the Mountaineers were in contention for a Big 12 title and playoff spot entering November.

They fell short of a spot in the Big 12 title game, losing to Oklahoma at home in the regular-season finale to finish 8-3. With Grier and star offensive tackle Yodny Cajuste sitting out, the Mountaineers lost the Camping World Bowl to Syracuse last week. West Virginia is facing a significant rebuild next season with Grier, Cajuste, star receiver David Sills V and linebacker David Long all headed to the NFL.

Houston has been trying to work its way into a Power Five conference, preferably the Big 12, and is hoping Holgorsen can help make them a viable option in a process in which the school has little control.

Holgorsen is two years into a contract that runs through the 2021 season and pays him $3.5 million per year. Houston will owe West Virginia a $1 million buyout.

“I want to thank coach Holgorsen for his eight years at West Virginia,” West Virginia athletic director Shane Lyons said. “Our national search for his replacement has already begun, and I know it will be a successful one.”

Holgorsen initially was hired as West Virginia’s offensive coordinator and head coach-in waiting in December 2010. Fans were never fully enamored with Holgorsen after he replaced the popular Bill Stewart at the start of the 2011 season. A month after an intoxicated Holgorsen was escorted out of a West Virginia casino, he was named Stewart’s replacement after a former sports writer said Stewart approached him shortly after Holgorsen’s hiring to “dig up dirt” on his eventual successor.

Inheriting players recruited by Stewart, West Virginia beat Clemson 70-33 in the Orange Bowl after the 2011 season to finish 10-3. Holgorsen was given a five-year contract extension at the end of the 2016 regular season, when WVU also went 10-3.

WVU Coach Holgorsen Gets 5-year Contract Extension

West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen has been rewarded with a five-year contract extension after the Mountaineers’ best Big 12 finish since entering the conference in 2012.

Athletic director Shane Lyons announced the extension in a statement Saturday after No. 14 West Virginia beat Baylor 24-21. The five-year package is worth $18.6 million plus incentives.

Holgorsen was rewarded as West Virginia completed a 10-2 regular-season Saturday, finished third in the Big 12 and was ranked in the Top 10 on separate occasions. He is 46-30 at West Virginia in six seasons.

“I am pleased and happy that he wants to continue to lead the Mountaineer football program,” Lyons said in the statement. “Part of my job is to give him the resources to succeed, and we will continue to work together closely to bring the very best to West Virginia football.”

The 45-year-old Holgorsen earned $2.9 million this season, including a base salary of $250,000. The statement said he’ll earn $4 million plus incentives over the final year of the contract in 2021.

West Virginia President E. Gordon Gee said it’s gratifying to see the football team’s growth during Holgorsen’s tenure

“We want to ensure we keep that momentum going,” Gee said. “We look forward to watching even further success under his leadership.”

Holgorsen hadn’t received a contract extension since signing a six-year deal in August 2012 after winning the Orange Bowl in his first season in 2011. His contract was set to expire next year.

After going 10-3 in 2011, Holgorsen went 26-25 in the next four seasons and his job security came under scrutiny.

He was told in December 2015 by Lyons following the end of a 7-5 regular season that he could keep his job. Lyons said later that Holgorsen declined to accept an offer for a contract extension and that no further discussions would be held until after the 2016 season.

But the two sides didn’t wait quite that long. West Virginia, picked to finish seventh in the league this season, won its first six games and was in Big 12 title contention until being eliminated by Oklahoma on Nov. 19.

“We’ve been working on it for quite a while,” Holgorsen said. “I put my head down and I give my coaching staff credit. They weren’t worried about it. I wasn’t worried about it.”

Holgorsen said he’s been excited about the future for some time and the contract “puts some things to rest and it will help with recruiting. So I’m excited about that.”

WVU Football Set to Improve on Last Year’s 7-6 Record

The West Virginia University football team is 1-0 after a win last week over Georgia Southern. The Mountaineers hope to turn the early win into a successful season.

A year after finishing 7-6, including a loss to Texas A&M in the Liberty Bowl, the Mountaineers are hoping last Saturday’s 44-0 win over Georgia Southern is a sign of things to come. WVU limited Georgia Southern to 224 yards of offensive output. The Mountaineers on the other hand went for 544 total yards. Head Coach Dana Holgorsen said WVU should be even more prepared for Liberty University because both teams run a similar offense.

“What we do offensively is a heck of a lot more similar to Liberty than Georgia Southern,” Holgorsen said. “They pose some pro-style challenges with good personnel. They’re good up front and they have a great quarterback who can make the throws and they got one great receiver and some quality receivers with some running backs as well, but that’s kind of what we do too.”

The Liberty Flames are coming off a 32-13 victory over Delaware State last weekend in their opener. Liberty plays in the Football Championship Subdivision, whereas teams like WVU and Marshall play in the Football Bowl Subdivision. It’s a difference that Holgorsen said doesn’t matter on game day.

“It happens every year as you all know. FCS teams, if you take them lightly and don’t respect your opponent then it’ll come back to get you, it’s got to a point where I think it might happen every week,” Holgorsen said. “Last year they were 9-5 and really got on a run toward the end of the year, I think they won 7 out of their last 9 and they got everybody coming back on offense.”

The Flames and Mountaineers will kick off at 3 p.m. Saturday in Morgantown.

Mountaineers and Herd Kick Off 2014 Season

The state’s two Division 1 football programs kick off their seasons on the road Saturday afternoon.

Both Marshall and WVU kickoff at 3:30. Marshall is headed to Oxford, Ohio to take on the Miami University Red Hawks. The Mountaineers have a slightly tougher challenge Saturday as they travel to Atlanta for a matchup with Alabama, the team ranked number two in both the USA Today and Associated Press Preseason Polls.

WVU head coach Dana Holgorsen knows it will be a challenge.

“When you think of an Alabama team and you think of Coach Saban, it’s going to be defense and Kirby Smart has been there defensive coordinator for a long time, been with Nick for a long time,” Holgorsen said. “They do a great job of recruiting top notch talent, big fast strong guys, some of the better players in the country each and every year.”

The matchup with Alabama also presents a unique challenge for Alabama coach Nick Saban. Saban is a native of Fairmont and grew up rooting for the Mountaineers.

“When I was a kid–man, to go to Mountaineer Field and watch West Virginia play that was the highlight of my year,” Saban said. “I still have great memories of home and I have great memories of the people and relationships that I have at home and I’ve always kind of been a Mountaineer fan.”

While the Mountaineers are tussling with the Crimson Tide, Marshall will begin its most hyped season since the early 2000’s with a trip to Miami of Ohio. Doc Holliday said because the Redhawks have a new coach in Chuck Martin, the former Notre Dame assistant, they’re not sure what Miami’s offense and defense will look like.

Senior tight end Eric Frohnapfel warms up during fall practice.

“Chuck is a heck of a football coach, he coach on the defensive side of the ball early on at Notre Dame and then became the offensive coordinator,” Holliday said. “He was at Grand Valley state and a lot of different places and has been very successful wherever he’s been, so we don’t know exactly what we’re getting, so we went clear back to Grand Valley and clear back to Notre Dame, we have to prepare for a lot of different things.”

Senior tight end Eric Frohnapfel said he’s been happy to see how excited Marshall fans are for the season.

“I know my phone has just been, bloom bloom, I’ve gotten Facebook notifications and tweets from people that have countdowns going and they’re putting up these messages, so it’s good to see the turnout from the fans and they’re really excited and hopefully we can travel a large crowd there and I’m glad to see it, it’s that time of the year, the excitement is in the air and I’m happy to see it,” Frohnapfel said.

WVU and Alabama will be televised on ABC Saturday at 3:30. Marshall’s Matchup with Miami University is on ESPN3 at 3:30 as well.

WVU Football Hopes to Bounce Back

West Virginia University’s football program is hoping that 2014 is much better than 2013 after finishing 4-8.

WVU Head Coach Dana Holgorsen enters his fourth season in Morgantown. In his first season, the last for WVU in the Big East, they finished 10-3. In the following two season while in the Big 12, Holgorsen is 11-14 overall and 6-12 in the Big 12. Holgorsen said he doesn’t feel any extra pressure headed into the season.

“Probably as much as everybody else in college football, it’s obviously a very very high profile and exciting time when it comes to each head coach that exists,” Holgorsen said. “We try to improve, I try to improve as a head coach each and every year and I put it on our assistant coaches to try to improve each and every year.”

WVU is picked to finish 8^th in the 10 team Big 12 conference ahead of Iowa State and Kansas, teams that both beat the Mountaineers during the 2013 season. Holgorsen said he’s optimistic that things will turn around this year.

“I think we’re going into a good situation right now, got 55 guys coming back, the majority of the games that we were in last year were very competitive,” Holgorsen said. “Hopefully a lot of the guys that are in the locker room right now that were a part of some of those close losses and some of those close wins as well can use that to our advantage and understand what to expect and try to win a few more of those games next year.”

Four of WVU’s 8 losses last year were by 10 points or less. Three of their four wins were by 10 points or less as well. West Virginia opens the upcoming season against Alabama in Atlanta, Georgia in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. That game combined with an always tough slate in the Big 12 make for a tough schedule says Holgorsen.

The only member of the Mountaineers to be selected by the media to the preseason first-team Big 12 squad was defensive back Karl Joseph. Among WVU’s other top players is punter Nick O’Toole. He said he’ll do whatever he has to help the team succeed.

“Whatever helps the team out, if they need me to put something inside the 20 then that’s what I have to do, if we have a slow coverage team, which we didn’t have last year, than I have to give us some more hang time,” O’Toole said. “It’s a lot of different things and you just have to be a well-rounded athlete and a well-rounded punter to have the combination of hang time and distance and just precision punting.”

WVU opens the season August 30^th against the Crimson Tide of Alabama.