I will admit I was a fan of Dana. Not to fan boy level, but definitely a fan. I, like Ollie said in his introduction, view him as one of the very best offensive minds in the game at any level. Guys like Bill Belichick don't pick the brains of fools. I kinda liked his I can go on a 3 day bender stroll into my office in flip flops with a massive hangover and in short order come up with a game plan that will still put 30 on your ass persona. The media liked him and he, his offense and his hair kept us in the national conversation. I liked it. That said I always knew he had a major flaw. He is just not good at adulting.
From the casino incidents, non typical coaching work ethic, hiring his drinking buddies, car wrecks with coeds in car, etc etc. The guy is just not built to run a program long term. OC or DC yes Head man no. Good example was the Maryland debacle in 2013. A good friend's daughter was a waitress at Keglers at the time. Dana, Dawson and several assistants the night before MD game, may have been the Thursday night before they left for MD, are in Keglers until 2:30 in the morning getting blasted drunk. To the point they staggered out with Dawson needing assistance to walk. Not what you are looking for in a leader. There were rumors of many other incidents like that, but that one i know for sure is factual.
Dana put very little effort into Bowl games the last 4-5 years if ever. It was evident in how his teams looked with regards to preparation and their performance. I could site a bunch of rumors about our Bowl prep, but I think most of us have already heard them.
Dana has stated several times he does not enjoy recruiting. No crime in that with the exception it is key to long term success. Can't sustain a program on transfers and Juco's. He got very lucky with several transfer QB's as we know he was unable to recruit even one HS QB that he was able to develop into even a solid backup.
So you have this brilliant OC who under the surface is pretty much a mess who does not think he needs to put in the long hours most coaches do, does not really enjoy most of the HC duties and responsibilities, does not like to recruit and has a lifestyle that does not promote stability.
Again, I ignored a lot of his short comings because one, his offenses were often a joy to watch and 2, he and his persona kept us in the national conversation most years at least until Nov anyway. I also am pretty clear on WVU's overall fit and the obstacles we face in the big picture of college football. I also knew a HC change would be painful. Like 3-4 years painful. The shortcomings he had in prep and recruiting were not going to bode well for a new coach.That said when we crapped the bed vs Ok. St. last year and could not get to the Big 12 title game with that squad, I was ready for the change even if it meant a 3 year rebuild. Dana and his program here had run its course IMHO.
We now seem to have the opposite of Dana at least personally at the helm. He has in 6 months taken more responsibility for his kids and program than Dana did his whole tenure. He appears to be a good CEO type coach and seems buttoned up in all areas. He was for sure on my personal short list as soon as Dana resigned.
Will this change work, who knows. Anybody who thinks they know either way is fooling themselves. Overall talent looks pretty suspect and I see zero real impact players at the moment. Have not been able to say that in quite some time. Most likely a big factor in Dana leaving/lack of extension from Lyons.
I am rooting for Brown to rebuild the program and have a team and group of coaches we can be very proud of in a couple years. Fingers crossed he can at least make us respectable while he rebuilds from the ground up. I think he will do it. In the mean time, for gosh sakes can we block somebody in that run game. Geez oh flip. Good luck Coach Brown.
