Shannon Dawson isn’t new to the job or new to WVU, but he is WVU’s new offensive coordinator. And in so many ways, he is just as important as is Geno Smith, Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey, Joe Madsen … you get the picture.

And he’s got a little Devil-may-care about him, which means he’s probably exactly who and what Dana Holgorsen wants in the box with the power to call plays and direct the offense in his hands.

“He’s more fast pace, spread-it-out, throw-it-every-down than I am,” said Coach Dana Holgorsen, who doubled as the coordinator last season, but handed off to Dawson in the offseason. “I’m a little more conservative as the head coach. He doesn’t really care.”

One guy who’s known and admired the other for many years can say that in jest, but there’s a lot of truth in that, too.

“I think that’s pretty accurate – I call it a little bit more reckless than he does,” Dawson said. “He’s a lot more conservative than I am, but everyone’s got their own personality, their own way of doing things.”

We’re forgetting about this, because the defense played pretty well and actually won the game, but the offense was sharp at the start. That was when Dawson had his first- and second-teams out there doing what they know and what they do best. The Mountaineers passed a lot, won key downs, succeeded in the red zone and scored a pair of touchdowns.

He was ready and he had WVU ready because, really, Dawson plays to win because he loathes losing. Again, fit for Dana and what he wants to do.

“He’s as big of a competitor as I’ve ever seen,” Slaughter said. “The thing I like about our offense is you have to be somewhat of a guy who takes chances and not play close to the vest because you want your guys out there to be aggressive. That’s what he is going to do. He’s going to go out there and call plays aggressively.”