West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen, left, gives instructions to quarterback Jack Allison (11) during the second half of the Camping World Bowl NCAA college football game against Syracuse Friday, Dec. 28, 2018, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

MORGANTOWN — The rumor has become the reality.

BlueGoldNews.com has confirmed with West Virginia University sources that Mountaineers head coach Dana Holgorsen has informed Director of Athletics Shane Lyons that he plans to talk to officials at the University of Houston about the Cougars’ open head coaching position.

The position was previously held by former University of Texas quarterback Major Applewhite until the university elected not to bring him back following the Cougars’ bowl game.

Holgorsen, who served as the offensive coordinator for Houston during the 2008 and 2009 campaigns, has not yet taken the job at UH, but the request to Lyons is an important step if he desires to leave West Virginia.

Applewhite posted a 15-11 mark in two-plus seasons at the helm of the Cougars while Holgorsen is 61-41 in eight seasons at West Virginia, including an 8-4 mark this past season.

The big question surrounds the ability of UH athletics department to come up with a salary to match the $3.7 million Holgorsen will earn if he elects to stay in Morgantown. Reports have Applewhite’s salary hovering around the $1.3 million mark.

Then, there is the question of Holgorsen’s buyout, which stood at $2.5 million, but dropped to $1 million today.

“After a thorough evaluation of our football program, it is my assessment our future opportunities for success are better addressed by making this very difficult decision now,” UH vice president for athletics Chris Pezman in a story published in the Houston Chronicle.

The Chronicle also reported that the top target for Houston is WVU’s Holgorsen.

And for good reason.

In addition to running the Cougars’ offense for two years, Holgorsen’s ties to the Longhorn State are long and deep. After serving as the quarterbacks and wide receivers, coach at Wingate (1999), Holgorsen went to Texas Tech to become the Red Riders’ inside receivers, coach from 2000 until 2004 when he took over as co-offensive coordinator for the 2005-07 seasons before heading to UH.

“While the immediate future may be challenging, our future at UH is very bright,” Pezman continued in his statement. “We’ve made many sizable improvements over the past five years, and I look forward to enhancing our future success through the hiring of our next head coach and will not comment further until the search is concluded.”

Adding more fuel to the Holgorsen-to-Houston rumor mill was a Yahoo Sports report on Monday that Houston has reached out to West Virginia University for permission to interview the Mountaineers head football coach.

Holgorsen has three years and $11.5 million left on his current contract, which goes through the 2021 season.