That was my reply early this morning to the news of the day … and the day was barely half an hour old. Colin Dunlap did indeed go there early in the morning and revealed what a lot of us knew for months now: Bill Stewart, as far back as December, was working against Dana Holgorsen.

The game changed right there. I figured sooner or later WVU was going to arrive at a point of no return and pause and look at the wall and figure out how to get over it. I wonder if WVU arrived there early this morning, or soon thereafter.

And now some thoughts about this story…

– Colin was in the radio station to drop off his pay stub, not to flame-throw Bill Stewart. He wasn’t the subject of an interview, but more of a guest co-host as part of a free-flowing conversation and at a time when not a lot of reporters are awake or lucid.

– Colin didn’t say anything that a lot of people around and in the program and the athletic department didn’t already know. He did say things a lot of people didn’t want to hear.

– Prior to that, Stewart was being portrayed as the villain, though absent any real proof. My people were careful to tell me, and I hope I was careful to tell you, it was not solely Stewart or even specifically Stewart. This was a more focused look at the program and affiliates, like the MAC, the WVU Foundation, so on and so forth. WVU has to be thorough.

– Stewart may be free of guilt. He may be guilty of the worst assumptions. He may be guilty of overseeing others who are working against Holgorsen. All these things matter and are being considered.

– Here’s the nutshell of the contract status. It’s not hooey. It’s actually what led to greater discoveries. That it was agreed upon in December and isn’t signed is, at WVU, of note because WVU has had trouble with these contract dealings in the past. The longer the contract went unsigned — and these things are never done right away, though with a situation as delicate as Stewart’s you would think it might get expedited — the more and more it became clear there was a reason why. That Stewart’s deal hasn’t been signed is fact. That WVU hasn’t gotten around to finalizing it because it has been invested and interested in determining who has done what to compromise the coaching transition is fact. I realize people will not blindly believe my sources, but this isn’t about the best available sources of information. It’s about the best sources of information. And it’s at best a draw to counter sources with source.

– WVU doesn’t want anyone operating for too long on what we’ll call a term sheet — it’s a living contract that spells out the agreed-upon terms and conditions of a person’s employment. It precedes a formal contract. It’s not final. It is still somewhat binding, despite it’s lack of thoroughness. But this is absolutely not about leverage, either. This is about not wanting to allow someone to sign a contract who you fear might be guilty of actionable offenses. Really, imagine if some time after WVU started  to look into these things that WVU also finalized and publicized Stewart’s contract … and was then compelled to get rid of him. Not good.

– I don’t think the silence will persist much longer. Oliver Luck is on the radio shortly.