In yet another strong indication that Bill Stewart's tenure at West Virginia is nearing an end, West Virginia Illustrated has confirmed that Stewart did in fact contact a second reporter in an attempt to smear Dana Holgorsen.  They have also confirmed that buyout negotiations are underway.

Multiple sources have confirmed for wvillustrated.com that negotiations are underway to develop an exit strategy for Bill Stewart from the WVU football program.

Meanwhile, WVi has been able to confirm that a second call was, in fact, placed to a reporter in West Virginia on the same day that Stewart called former Pittsburgh Post Gazette reporter Colin Dunlap.

Throughout the week, hope has dwindled that any type of working relationship between Stewart and Holgorsen could be salvaged.  At this point, it looks as if the only question is when the separation between Stewart and WVU will take place and how much money it will cost the University.

WVi also provides a timeline, based off phone records, of Stewart's conversations with both Colin Dunlap and the unnamed second reporter.  It seems, between 11:02 am and 2:01 pm on December 14, Stewart sealed his fate as (sooner than expected) ousted head coach at WVU.