As more information comes out about the coaches, and the decision to hire them, the more I'm convinced WVU hit a home run by hiring Oliver Luck. Everything about this change shows intelligence...

I feel good about the Mountaineers' future...

I'm sure there are plenty in the conference that wish they felt the same about their school. Enjoy reading, and don't get too jealous...

The Charleston Daily Mail Wrote:Holgorsen hires 3 assistants
by The Associated Press
Tuesday January 4, 2011

MCT REGIONAL NEWS
By Ed Owens
The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.

Jan. 04 - When it came to naming assistant coaches, new WVU offensive coordinator and head coach "in waiting" Dana Holgorsen played his cards close to his chest. Today, Holgorsen will lay down a full house.

After days of speculation, Stephen F. Austin offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson, Arizona co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh and Oklahoma State running backs coach Robert Gillespie will sign assistant coaching contracts with WVU today.

Dawson, who confirmed the news Monday evening, will coach the inside receivers, Bedenbaugh the offensive line and Gillespie the running backs. Lonnie Galloway, the lone holdover from the Mountaineers' offensive staff last season, will retain his position as wide receivers coach.

Pending background checks and filing the proper paperwork, WVU could announce the signings as soon as this afternoon. The details of the contracts were not known as of Monday.

With those pieces in place, WVU's offensive staff is complete.

Although Bill Stewart will serve as WVU's head coach through the end of this season, Holgorsen, who will take over the program in 2012, was in charge of selecting the new offensive assistants.

In a way, Holgorsen is getting the band back together -- even if it is for the first time.

"Dana recruited me out of high school, we were together for three years and we've always kept in touch," Dawson said Monday evening as he was traveling to Morgantown.

"Bedenbaugh coached at Texas Tech with Dana, so I got to know him through that and have known him for a while. I didn't know Gillespie until recently, but we've had the chance to meet. It's kind of like a bunch of friends coaching together."

Though Dawson, Bedenbaugh and Gillespie have never coached on the same staff, the trio is tied together through Holgorsen.

Bedenbaugh played with Holgorsen at Iowa Wesleyan College and coached with him at Texas Tech from 2000-06.

Holgorsen recruited Dawson to play wide receiver for him at Mississippi College and Dawson later followed him to Wingate University. Gillespie was Holgorsen's running backs coach at Oklahoma State this past season.

That familiarity, Dawson said, is going to be crucial when it comes to installing a brand new offensive scheme at WVU.

"I'm not Dana and I'm not talking for him, but it's extremely important for people in this offense to be familiar with it," Dawson said. "It's a different kind of offense that not everybody runs, so it's important to bring in people with a background in it. We've all been running it, so we all know what to expect."

Holgorsen, Bedenbaugh, Dawson and Gillespie are all branches on the same coaching tree.

Holgorsen and Bedenbaugh played for Hal Mumme at Iowa Wesleyan and both coached under Mumme at Valdosta State. Holgorsen left Valdosta to coach at Mississippi College, where he recruited Dawson, before moving on to Wingate. Holgorsen eventually went to Texas Tech, where he reconnected with Bedenbaugh. Gillespie was drawn into Holgorsen's coaching circle this past season when Holgorsen took over as Oklahoma State's offensive coordinator.

They've all had different levels of experience with the kind of spread offense that Holgorsen likes to employ and are looking for a seamless integration when it comes to teaching a new style at WVU.

"I've installed this offense at three different places from scratch," Dawson said.

"And typically, it's not too hard to pick up. It's all based on repetition, so it's never taken extremely long for the kids to get comfortable. The learning curve won't be too outrageous."

Ready for opportunity

Dawson will be making the jump from the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) after a successful run as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Stephen F. Austin University.

The Lumberjacks averaged 16.5 points per game in 2008, the year before Dawson took over, but averaged 35 points in 2009 and 36.25 points per game in 2010. SFA led all FCS schools in passing offense (362.2 yards per game).

"The offense is good, the system is good and the proof is in the pudding," Dawson said. "The year before I took over at SFA, they didn't win a game and they went 13 quarters without scoring an offensive touchdown. It was bad. In my first year we averaged 35 to 36 points per game and were one of the top offenses in the country. The last two years we won back-to-back conference championships for the first time in school history."

Bedenbaugh comes to WVU from Arizona, where he served as the Wildcats' co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. Arizona ranked No. 24 in total offense this season, averaging 439.4 yards per game.

He also worked as both an offensive line and running backs coach at Texas Tech.

Gillespie has the most recent experience working with Holgorsen. Under Gillespie, Oklahoma State ranked 36th nationally in rushing offense (174.4 ypg) and tied for 25th with eight fumbles lost on the year. West Virginia tied with Georgia Tech with 20 fumbles lost in 2010, the worst mark in the country.

Last week, WVU informed running backs coach Chris Beatty and tight ends coach Dave McMichael their contracts were not being renewed for the 2011 season.

In December, former WVU offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen and former offensive line coach Dave Johnson were told they would not be retained past the Dec. 28 Champs Sports Bowl.

Mullen, Johnson, Beatty and McMichael could not be reached, and none had signed with new schools as of Monday evening.
_____
To see more of The Dominion Post or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dominionpost.com.
© 2011, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

That line in bold face type doesn't bode well for Lonnie Galloway. He may not remain as the WRs Coach. We'll find out more later...

Here's a brief summary of each new coach to date...

The Smoking Musket Wrote:A closer look at the new assistants
By Ern
Published: January 4, 2011


Multiple media outlets are reporting that West Virginia has hired new assistant coaches Shannon Dawson, Bill Bedenbaugh & Robert Gillespie. Let’s take a closer look at each.

Shannon Dawson

- Offensive Coordinator at Stephen F Austin (3rd season)
– Dawson wasted no time in making his presence felt on offense at Stephen F Austin. In his first season as OC (2008), the Lumberjacks total offense jumped from 86th to 13th, the passing offense jumped from 57th to 3rd & the scoring offense jumped from 105th to 14th.
– The trend continued in 2009 where the total offense was 2nd, passing O was 1st and scoring offense was 6th.
– 2010 offered more of the same: Total 6th, passing 1st & scoring 4th.
– Dawson’s offense’s have set multiple team, conference and national records: QB pass attempts and completions in a game (national), TD passes & pass attempts/completions in a season (conference) to name a few.
– Dawson has been coaching for 8 seasons including stops at Wingate, Southeastern Louisiana, New Mexico State and most recently Millsaps College (OC for 2 seasons).
– Dawson is a graduate of Wingate University where he played wide receiver and quarterback. In 2001, he led all receivers with 43 receptions for 584 yards and seven touchdowns.
– Holgorsen was an assistant coach at Wingate when Dawson was the QB/WR there.

Bill Bedenbaugh

- Co-offensive coordinator at Arizona (4th season, 1st as co-OC)
– 15 year coaching veteran with stops at Arizona & Texas Tech.
– Entire coaching career spent on the offensive side of the ball.
– Graduate of Iowa Wesleyan where he played offensive line.
– ’09 coached Arizona offensive line to 10th least amount of sacks allowed (13).
– Named NCAA Division II Coordinator of the Year after helping lead the Ferris State Bulldogs to a division-best 534 yards per game as offensive line coach and running game coordinator in 1999.
– Played with Holgorsen at Iowa Wesleyan and later coached with him at Texas Tech.

Robert Gillespie

- Running backs coach at Oklahoma State (2nd season)
– Played running back and was team captain under Steve Spurrier at the University of Florida.
– Finished his college career with 2nd most yards receiving for a tailback.
– Gillespie spent some time with the Washington Redskins and NFL Europe before settling on coaching.
– Gillespie began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at South Carolina in 2005. He accepted a full time position in 2006.
– Gillespie moved to Oklahoma St. in 2009.
– South Carolina’s tailbacks combined for 1,876 total yards in 2006 marking a 61% increase in production from the year prior to his appointment as running back coach.
– In 2007, Cory Boyd rushed for 903 yards – the most by a USC tailback since 2000. Boyd was also taken in the NFL Draft.
– Oklahoma St. led the offense in rushing offense in his first season there. Tailback Keith Toston and fullback Bryant Ward were all conference.
– Under Gillespie, Kendall Hunter ranked 2nd in the Big 12 and 9th overall in rushing yards per game.
– Gillespie is known to be a tireless worker and a very good recruiter.