MORGANTOWN - The topic had been hibernating for a while. It was put to rest in the winter and roused only slightly a few months later, but it opened its eyes Saturday evening.
In February, West Virginia's athletic director, Shane Lyons, told the Gazette-Mail he and Dana Holgorsen were no longer negotiating an extension to the football coach's contract. In May, Lyons was a guest on a radio talk show and said Holgorsen had turned down an extension offer before those discussions ended.
On Saturday, well, Holgorsen, who hasn't said anything on the subject, didn't say much, but he said something.
The Mountaineers had just beaten Kansas State, their first win in five tries against the Wildcats, to enter this open weekend both 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the Big 12 for the first time in four years. Holgorsen said all his wins - and he has 40 now in 68 games - are important. He needed to beat the Wildcats no more than he needed to beat BYU the week before and no less than he needs to beat Texas Tech next week.
He hadn't focused on his lack of results against the Wildcats and their head coach.
"I know you guys have," said Holgorsen, whose contract runs through next season. "Shane probably has."
Holgorsen said some other things to complete the thought, something about the satisfaction that came from beating the last team to beat the Mountaineers, and that was indeed worthwhile, but the larger point was made. The future starts now for Lyons, for Holgorsen and for their football program.
What the Mountaineers have accomplished so far is both impressive and not yet clear. They're one of 16 unbeaten teams left in the country and one of two in the Big 12. In non-conference play, they tallied two of the Big 12's four wins against Power 5 opponents, BYU or Notre Dame. On Saturday, they won a game Kansas State typically wins.
WVU is ranked No. 22 by the media and No. 20 by the coaches. The Sagarin ratings have the Mountaineers at No. 35 and with the 36th-most difficult schedule in the country. Of the 34 teams above them, only 14 have played a harder schedule.
They don't care about rankings today and wouldn't be happy to have the same numbers in December, but they were favored in all four games and won each game. They showed different types of resiliency to come back from 13 points down to beat the Wildcats and to hang on against BYU after nearly squandering a 16-point lead.
There was also a deficit erased against Youngstown State, but you'll pardon the absence of compliments for coming back against a Football Championship Subdivision opponent.
That said, last season saw them lose to Oklahoma State in overtime and lose by a point at Kansas State despite a 10-point lead in the second half. They were favored in both. Since then, WVU has beaten Arizona State by a point in the Cactus Bowl and exhibited a degree of growth from then until now to explain this success.
"I think this team is tough, plays with a lot of grit," Holgorsen said Tuesday. "They just fight, don't give up. They're passionate about what we do."
None of this guarantees or predicts an extension during the season - the two sides haven't discussed it at all lately - but it does justify visiting the subject.
We've been here before, right? WVU was 3-0 last season and ranked in both polls but went 0-4 in October against a brutal gauntlet: at No. 15 Oklahoma, vs. No. 21 Oklahoma State, at No. 2 Baylor, at No. 5 TCU.
It was that stretch that put Holgorsen's job security in question. The streak that's followed asks different questions. WVU has won nine of 10 games. It's been favored every time.
"Probably has something to do with that schedule we played in October last year," Holgorsen said. "I thought we were pretty good last year. Things didn't go our way, starting with Karl [Joseph] going down and then that tough schedule.
"I was proud of the way the guys hung in there and believed in each other and the coaches and did a great job carrying that over to the season. Right now, the guys like each other. They're happy to be here. That wins you a lot of football games."
Smiling faces won't bat down a pass in Lubbock, Texas, next week. A good mood won't stop the run at home against Baylor at the end of the season. WVU will need more than its disposition in between. It will need a defense that performs better and ranks higher once it faces lively offenses. It will need an offense that isn't No. 67 in points per game despite ranking No. 20 in yards per game.
But if you believe Holgorsen's success is attached to his quarterback, consider Skyler Howard has been the starter for these past 10 games. He's also 9-1 at home with superior numbers at Mountaineer Field - 61.2 percent completions, 251.7 yards per game, 19 touchdowns, nine interceptions - and the toughest and most-important games left on the schedule are on his turf.
And then remember Will Grier, the most talented quarterback on the roster and maybe the most accomplished prep quarterback the program has ever had, is redshirting as a transfer this year and will most likely be the starter next year.
It's reasonable to believe what's been happening can continue. It's possible the Mountaineers can't keep it going against better competition. But it's true what happens now will influence Lyons, define Holgorsen and shape their futures together or apart.
Contact Mike Casazza at 304-319-1142 or mikec@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @mikecasazza and read his blog at http://blogs.wvgazettemail.com/wvu/.