Talking to people, reading a little, and drawing a few conclusions ... This is long but explains many of the strange circumstances with Dana and his AD and why he might be looking to GTFO.
Dana was hired by Oliver Luck in 2010 at WVU as OC/HCIW. Because of drama with Bill Stewart, he became the head coach for the 2011 season. In August 2012, he signed a 6-year deal with Luck that takes him into December 2017.
When Luck left after the 2014 season, they hired a guy named Shane Lyons - a WVU grad but not a former athlete. He came there from Alabama where he ran compliance and operations. Certainly not in a strategy role. Before, he was in compliance and operations roles at the ACC and at Texas Tech; he was in Lubbock at the same time Dana was. I get the sense that Lyons is considered a bean counter.
He also comes off as a guy that wants to make his own mark and hire his own guy. He has no control over Bob Huggins' coach-friendly deal (Huggins could be head coach until 2023 if he chooses) but Lyons can influence football and maybe get his own guy.
Lyons has been nibbling at the edges with money and control of football, something a guy like Dana doesn't like. Lyons was not too keen on extending Dana before this season and gave him a lowball and very WVU-friendly offer. Negotiations broke down just after signing day (in February! Way too early to end negotiations, honestly). I think he expected Dana to turn it down and it gave himself an out for down the road.
The AD was looking to lessen the school's buyout for Dana (he would have been owned $6M before this season, $3M after). Dana wanted a longer deal and even more money for assistants. To his credit, Dana hasn't said much about it other than an offhand comment in October about how Lyons is watching him like a hawk.
Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson signed a new deal in December 2014 for 3 years and $2.1M. When he signed it, Luck was still the AD and he included a clause that the contract is terminated if Dana is fired or reassigned. Luck left 3 weeks later for a job at the NCAA.
Last fall, after a bad 2015 season and only 10 months on the job, AD Lyons came out and gave a vote of confidence to Dana. A week after that, he rewrote Gibson's deal as DC and removed the clause that tied his employment to Dana. Lyons had guaranteed both 2016 and 2017 for Gibson. Dana found that puzzling, especially after talks broke down over his own extension and guaranteed money.
In Dana's current deal, signed in 2012, there is a promised staff pool increase of 5% after every bowl appearance - that clause was seemingly ignored by Lyons this offseason. Lyons took money saved on departing coaches like Lonnie Galloway and Brian Mitchell and used it for small raises to a few coaches but only increased the salary pool by $20,000 over 2015. At 2.905M, that's $122,000 short of what Dana's contract instructs based on 2015 (2.85M).
All coaches who got minor raises (in the 30-40K range) also had a new clause that, if terminated, their contracts are offset by any salary they make in the future. Each must report to athletics their job search progress every 30 days. That rubbed Dana the wrong way. WVU hadn't had this clause previously - it's particularly strange coming 4 months after guaranteeing the rest of Gibson's contract.
When given the vote of confidence last winter, it was strongly suggested to Dana to hire an OC (he didn't have one in 2015). He hired Joe Wickline, famous for the very public legal fight with OkSt and who was Strong's OC at Texas the last 2 years. Dana worked with him at OSU. Obviously, Dana didn't like being told what his staff needs to look like. Dana still serves as QB coach although there is a GA (and former WVU QB) that runs practices for QBs.
Curiously, Gibson's 12/2014 contract paid him more for 2016 (750K) than for 2017 (700K). Even more curious, before the extension he was making less as DC than their DL coach and special teams/safeties coach. None of that is on Lyons - just something I found strange.
It's not as if Dana had a lot of leverage coming into 2016 but he certainly has a case that he's been jacked around. He could be feeling like Briles felt after 2005 when Maggard forced him into some changes. Difference being, Maggard was a longtime AD with gravitas and Shane Lyons isn't even 2 years into his AD career (and was 11 months into it when he started all of this last December).
Always beware with Trace running a negotiation but there might be some truth to Dana's disenchantment.
Dana was hired by Oliver Luck in 2010 at WVU as OC/HCIW. Because of drama with Bill Stewart, he became the head coach for the 2011 season. In August 2012, he signed a 6-year deal with Luck that takes him into December 2017.
When Luck left after the 2014 season, they hired a guy named Shane Lyons - a WVU grad but not a former athlete. He came there from Alabama where he ran compliance and operations. Certainly not in a strategy role. Before, he was in compliance and operations roles at the ACC and at Texas Tech; he was in Lubbock at the same time Dana was. I get the sense that Lyons is considered a bean counter.
He also comes off as a guy that wants to make his own mark and hire his own guy. He has no control over Bob Huggins' coach-friendly deal (Huggins could be head coach until 2023 if he chooses) but Lyons can influence football and maybe get his own guy.
Lyons has been nibbling at the edges with money and control of football, something a guy like Dana doesn't like. Lyons was not too keen on extending Dana before this season and gave him a lowball and very WVU-friendly offer. Negotiations broke down just after signing day (in February! Way too early to end negotiations, honestly). I think he expected Dana to turn it down and it gave himself an out for down the road.
The AD was looking to lessen the school's buyout for Dana (he would have been owned $6M before this season, $3M after). Dana wanted a longer deal and even more money for assistants. To his credit, Dana hasn't said much about it other than an offhand comment in October about how Lyons is watching him like a hawk.
Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson signed a new deal in December 2014 for 3 years and $2.1M. When he signed it, Luck was still the AD and he included a clause that the contract is terminated if Dana is fired or reassigned. Luck left 3 weeks later for a job at the NCAA.
Last fall, after a bad 2015 season and only 10 months on the job, AD Lyons came out and gave a vote of confidence to Dana. A week after that, he rewrote Gibson's deal as DC and removed the clause that tied his employment to Dana. Lyons had guaranteed both 2016 and 2017 for Gibson. Dana found that puzzling, especially after talks broke down over his own extension and guaranteed money.
In Dana's current deal, signed in 2012, there is a promised staff pool increase of 5% after every bowl appearance - that clause was seemingly ignored by Lyons this offseason. Lyons took money saved on departing coaches like Lonnie Galloway and Brian Mitchell and used it for small raises to a few coaches but only increased the salary pool by $20,000 over 2015. At 2.905M, that's $122,000 short of what Dana's contract instructs based on 2015 (2.85M).
All coaches who got minor raises (in the 30-40K range) also had a new clause that, if terminated, their contracts are offset by any salary they make in the future. Each must report to athletics their job search progress every 30 days. That rubbed Dana the wrong way. WVU hadn't had this clause previously - it's particularly strange coming 4 months after guaranteeing the rest of Gibson's contract.
When given the vote of confidence last winter, it was strongly suggested to Dana to hire an OC (he didn't have one in 2015). He hired Joe Wickline, famous for the very public legal fight with OkSt and who was Strong's OC at Texas the last 2 years. Dana worked with him at OSU. Obviously, Dana didn't like being told what his staff needs to look like. Dana still serves as QB coach although there is a GA (and former WVU QB) that runs practices for QBs.
Curiously, Gibson's 12/2014 contract paid him more for 2016 (750K) than for 2017 (700K). Even more curious, before the extension he was making less as DC than their DL coach and special teams/safeties coach. None of that is on Lyons - just something I found strange.
It's not as if Dana had a lot of leverage coming into 2016 but he certainly has a case that he's been jacked around. He could be feeling like Briles felt after 2005 when Maggard forced him into some changes. Difference being, Maggard was a longtime AD with gravitas and Shane Lyons isn't even 2 years into his AD career (and was 11 months into it when he started all of this last December).
Always beware with Trace running a negotiation but there might be some truth to Dana's disenchantment.
