We haven’t heard from West Virginia’s athletic director lately, and I have’t spoken to him in far longer, but every now and then I suppose it’s fair and fun to check in on what’s sure to become The StoryLine for the 2016 season.

What of Dana Holgorsen and the temperature of his seat?

“It’s not about his contract right now, it’s about joining forces together,” Lyons told The Dominion Post on July 12. “We’ve worked very closely these last six, eight months since the end of the season to build this program and to allocate the resources necessary to make us a viable team in the Big 12 and, hopefully, nationally.”

Lyons says he won’t discuss ongoing negotiations over Holgorsen’s contract in the media (though he did reveal that Holgorsen turned down some kind of extension during an appearance on a local radio program in May).

He’s more transparent with his general stance on coaching contracts: “Personally? We got him through the two years. He’s my coach. He has two years left on his contract.”

Lyons has heard the familiar rebuttal to that philosophy.

It’ll hurt recruiting.

“Well, our recruiting class was everybody we wanted it to be in February,” he counters. (Rivals ranked WVU’s 2016 signing class 38th nationally.)

“And so far, I think we’re doing a good job of recruiting the commits that we’ve got at this point. That hasn’t impacted us.”

Agree or disagree, that is The Company Line, but that line of thinking expires Sept. 4. Prepare yourself. A lot of columns are going to wear out a path to the barometer this fall.