Dana Holgorsen: West Virginia Needs to Give Him the Headset for 2011

Dana Holgorsen needs to have that "head coach in waiting" tag removed immediately by West Virginia.

If Oliver Luck left the Champs Sports Bowl with a funny taste in his mouth, then Bill Stewart needs to do the right thing and just step down now.

If that horrendous performance by the Mountaineers during that 23-7 loss to underdog N.C. State didn't bother anyone, then by all means, let this Bill Stewart Farewell Tour charade continue on into the 2011 season.

If you don't think that performance by the guys in blue and gold stunk to high heaven, then by all means, keep Stewart on the sideline for another 12 games or however many will be played next year.

Fact is, that showing by the Mountaineers Tuesday night in Orlando flat-out stunk up the Citrus Bowl. It was ugly, uninspired and unemotional, and this program needs a very, very fresh, odorless start come spring.

If Luck thinks Holgorsen is the man who will get this team into the running for a national championship, then he should become the main cog and decision maker as soon as he's wrapped up his business in Stillwater.

That was a giant pimple of a performance by the offense. It was flat-out offensive if you root for West Virginia. It was putrid. It was turnover city. You might call it horrendous, but then it might have had to be better to be horrendous.

It's not as if there wasn't enough time to get ready for an 8-4 Wolfpack team. It's not like there wasn't plenty of time to practice.

Stewart needs to get on board with this immediately. If he's the loyal subject he says he is, then all he need do is look in the mirror, quickly review the last 30 minutes of that Orlando Oppression and have a quick meeting with Luck and then step aside. Stewart needs to get out of Holgorsen's way, clean out the office and let Mr. Offensive Genius have at it, lock, stock and barrel.

If Holgorsen thinks the staff needs further tweaking, then by all means let him tweak away.

Sure, the defense played okay, did the best it could. But if we're talking national championship in Morgantown, and that's what Luck is doing, then you better get ready for offenses that will be a lot better than N.C. State's.

If you're talking national championship, then Holgorsen might need to upgrade a lot of the current staff.

If Luck is really, totally serious about this mighty talk, then he'd better get the plan rolling as soon as possible.

That means getting Stewart off the sidelines and into that comfortable office somewhere in the athletic department where he can have all the coffee and donuts he wants.

If there's a national championship to be won, then Luck better put his handpicked architect at the helm without wasting any more time.

Making Holgorsen wait another season is just a waste of time—unless you liked what you saw Tuesday night.