So much of what has gone on around West Virginia’s football program lately has not been about the team. It’s been about a devastating loss to Pitt and the consequences, the coaching change and a coaching search, the impact on recruiting and the preparation for the bowl game and, of course, this recent lawsuit.

The arrival here for the Fiesta Bowl seemed to turn the page on all of that and begin a new chapter, one about just football. Talk about the team, the players, the coaches, the game, the opponent, hell, even the weather.

It was refreshing, the Mountaineers admitted, to talk about things that mattered, things they could control. Suddenly, you couldn’t help but notice this team is very ready fto play Oklahoma and not at all preoccupied with the past.

But what if WVU named a coach today. Or tomorrow. Or any time before Jan. 2 and the game for which the team has worked so hard to ready itself?

“It would be a distraction,” senior safety Ryan Mundy said.

Mundy did not hesitate to answer and then elaborate. “We’ve done a good job keeping focus on things like the game,” he said. “If we found out that this guy is going to be the coach next year, somebody’s mind might float to next year before we finish this game. We don’t need that.”

Indeed, the players and the staff have done well to diminish the impact of the coaching change. A hiring could render those efforts worthless and be a disservice to the entire team.

“It might ease some people’s minds to know who the coach is,” senior defensive lineman Keilen Dykes said. “There are probably some players thinking, ‘Dang, man, who is going to be our coach?’ But I think it would probably upset some others, too, because we’ve been putting all of our focus on
Oklahoma.”