Dana Holgorsen Goes From Savior to Rival, Joins WVU

It's official...(or it's going to be by the end of the week): Dana Holgorsen will eerily peer over Bill Stewart's shoulder next season in Morgantown before officially taking the job as Head Coach of WVU in 2012. 

The contract is for $500,000 in 2011, then jumps to $2 million per season after that as part of a six-year deal. For comparison's sake, Dave Wannstedt made $1,010,873 with Pitt in 2010, next-to-last in the Big East in front of only Bil Stewart's $903,000 at West Virginia. Frankly, I cannot wait to see Pitt's financial response to this one.

As for Holgorsen, he pocketed $360,000 as the Oklahoma State offensive coordinator in 2010, so his income will get a healthy boost in the coming years. But make no doubt about it - this is a huge coup for the Mountaineers. To not only get the hot name but take him out from under their arch-rival is a very proactive move that could pay huge dividends in the very near future. 2011 might be incredibly awkward, but that's a problem of their own creation.

Mondesi's House: The Director's Cut (more links, commentary, etc): twitter.com/mondesishouse
Email: mondesishouse@gmail.com

"Dana Holgorsen will not be the next head coach of Pitt"

"Interesting developments in the carousel of coaching.......According to a very good source - and believe me, sources are always very sketchy but this one has never steered me wrong - Dana Holgorsen will not be the next head coach of Pitt." -- Paul Zeise of the PG

Well that's just fantastic.

So what happened? He didn't like Pitt? Pitt didn't like him? He didn't like the city of Pittsburgh? Another school? Another school. And not just any school. West Virginia University.

Sources confirmed today that a high-ranking official from West Virginia’s athletic department has been in contact with Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen about the head coaching position at West Virginia, even as there is no vacancy.

That job would only come open if West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck fired Mountaineers coach Bill Stewart either before, or after, West Virginia plays in the Champs Sports Bowl on Dec. 28 against North Carolina State. Luck declined to comment. -- Colin Dunlap, PG

So it looks like we're right in the middle of a new kind of Backyard Brawl, one that centers around a bidding war for a highly-regarded Steven Wright lookalike. 

WVU has allegedly offered Holgorsen an Offensive Coordinator/Head Coach-in-Waiting deal, which is a not-so-subtle hint that they're not entirely pleased with Bill Stewart, who was "vehemently against" such a plan. You mean he doesn't want to mentor the higher-paid guy who he's never worked with before that's taking his job? I'm shocked.

Here's an idea: maybe WVU could fire Stewart, pretend like he willingly resigned, hold an incredibly brief and awkward press conference, and then start their own coaching search instead of stealing Pitt's thunder (as well as their leading candidate)?

Mondesi's House: The Director's Cut (more links, commentary, etc): twitter.com/mondesishouse
Email: mondesishouse@gmail.com

NEWS AND NOTES

--The Steelers are on pace for 64 sacks. That would be great if we were talking about the defense, but unfortunately, they're on pace to allow 64 sacks. [PG]

--The Chargers beat the Jets, 48-29, on MNF last night. Brett Favre gunslung two interceptions (one for a TD) in the loss. [ESPN]

--Cowher Watch: now the Jets fans want him. But he's already going to coach the Chiefs and the Browns! [Scout.com]

--I've been saying that the Steelers need to throw the ball to Willie Parker, and here's a great article in support of that theory. [Post Game Heroes]

--What the heck happened to the Steelers' offensive line? DJ Gallo goes to the Steeler sidelines for some answers. [ESPN.com]

--The Raiders are imploding, and now they're challenging reporters too! With video! [Deadspin]

--A guy in a hockey mask tried to scare some kids in the woods, so they shot him. Oh, Johnstown... [Tribune Democrat]

--The Patriots fans are booing their team, and Ellis Hobbs is not happy. Between this and Randy Moss losing interest, it sounds like all is well. [Shutdown Corner]

--What's wrong with Carson Palmer? [SI]

--WVU fans are already calling for the head of Bill Stewart. Looks like that was a well thought-out hire. [SPORTSbyBROOKS]

--Here's one of the worst football injuries one will ever see in a lifetime. [YouTube]

--NFL's 10 Defensive Players Worth the Price of Admission list includes a Steeler. Is it Nick Eason? [CBS Sports]

--The Steelers will undoubtedly fall in this week's power rankings, but there's always a high place for them in the Ultimate Power Rankings. [ESPN]

--Here's 125 Places to Have a Beer Before You Die. [All About Beer]

--How many Pittsburgh stadiums landed on ESPN's 100 most important sports venues? [ESPN]

--And here's the 5 best old-school stadiums. Where's Mellon Arena? [FanNation]

Got news? Email it to mondesishouse@gmail.com and get automatically entered in a drawing to win a copy of Jim Wexell's new book, Steeler Nation.

The News

Well, the recently-announced "Mondesi's House Team" is coming together nicely. The initial lineup of writers will be at least 10 deep, and quality is certainly not being spared for quantity. There is some impressive talent and even more impressive writing resumes here.

And even though I wasn't really soliciting for any more writers in the last post on this topic, I appreciate the avalanche of requests to write for the site. I wish there was a way to include all of you, but if this goes well, maybe expansion will be in the near future.

This will be a bit of a risk on my part, but I think the writers I've selected will mesh nicely with the style I've developed in the last year and a half. This site has certainly outgrown my one-person format; very soon, you'll have a greater frequency of posts from a variety of different voices. I hope you enjoy it.

--Are you wearing a hat right now? If so, take it off and throw it on the floor in honor of Evgeni Malkin's first career hat trick. The Pens scored three goals in 48 seconds to put away the Maple Leafs, 6-2.

--Congrats to WVU for hiring Bill Stewart, a.k.a. "Larry Coker 2.0". Clearly this was a hire based on emotion. How else do you describe giving the job to a coach whose career record is highlighted by an 8-25 mark at VMI? And Mountaineer fans, one question: if WVU gets blown out, does Stewart still get the job?

Interesting footnote: while compiling those eight wins at VMI, Stewart gave a coaching job to a young man just starting his career by the name of Mike Tomlin.

--Got an interesting email to share with you from Dave Zigerelli, a displaced Monacan (you know, someone from Monaca) who is now a producer for the History Channel and living in NYC:

"I wanted to forward you the information for a comedy podcast my buddy and I record every week called "The Burghcast". My friend Matt Little (who also lives in NYC and works as a standup comic) and I record a new one after every Steeler game. We play two middle aged Steeler fans from Beaver Falls named Herb and Buxy. We essentially do a brief rap up of each game and then discuss topics ranging from Heluva Good potato chip dip to the many merits of Gabriel Brothers Clothing.

If you have a free second, please check it out. I'd love to hear any feedback you may have.

You can go to Itunes and search "Burghcast" and our podcast should pop right up.

Or you can download directly from our tentative site which is:

http://www.burghcast.com/podcast/burghcast.xml"

I know I'm always down for some good Gabe's talk. Check it out!

--While I'm in plug mode: NEW BURGH SITE ALERT! Welcome Raise the Jolly Roger! and the Pens Underground message board.

--Mike Lange doesn't make sense. That's old news. But there's a big article about it today in the National Post, so I guess it's new news.

--The Duke reminds me that Duquesne is now 10-3 going into conference play. And as always, Dukes Court provides blanket coverage.

--Why should Bill Parcells hire Big Snack from Pierogis N'at as the new coach of the Dolphins? I don't know either, but he couldn't do much worse than Cam Cameron. I guess you'll just have to click the link to find out why.

--It's the NBA's All-Ugly Team! You'd think with the long cash they make (sorry, I stole that one from Plex), they could afford some plastic surgery.

--A war of words has started with Mike Dempsey, a Jacksonville sports radio host, after he called Steeler Nation a myth. More of an explanation at hereswhatimsaying.blogspot.com.

-Having already burned through 3.2 million copies, Sports Illustrated is now releasing even more issues of its Sportsman of the Year mag, featuring Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre. Where's Peter King getting the money to buy all of those?

--Are Romo and Jess faking it for money?

--Here's your chance to own Sidney Crosby's Winter Classic Jersey. Unless it's already been stolen from Troy Crosby.

--Here's 10 reasons why Pittsburgh doesn't need an NBA team. Just 10? For Pierogis N'at's next list, I suggest 1,500 reasons why Pittsburgh doesn't need a CBA team.

--To whoever brought it up in the comments section recently (Louis Lipps, perhaps?)...you can still buy the Kendrell Bell bobblehead on eBay.

--Nothing says "musicians gone wild" like Beyonce and Kanye playing Connect Four

--It's Hip-Hop's Most Ridiculous (and Hilarious) Chains!

--For some reason, I think I've seen this before, but it achieves the very rare Mondesi's Five-Star Recommendation: