It took almost three weeks, but the Kentucky Wildcats finally filled their offensive coordinator vacancy Wednesday night by hiring West Virginia offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson.

Dawson coached at WVU for four years, spending the latter three years as the team’s O.C. His offense ranked ninth in the nation in passing and 11th in total offense in 2014, and WVU averaged more than 33 points per contest under Dawson’s leadership.

He won’t arrive in the Bluegrass until after the Mountaineers bowl game at the end of the month, but here are five reasons Dawson the perfect fit for the job at Kentucky:

1. He runs the same offense Neal Brown brought to Kentucky two years ago. Brown, UK’s former offensive coordinator and now the head coach at Troy, brought the Air Raid back to Lexington when he took the UK job prior to the 2012. He learned the offense as a receiver at Kentucky in the late-1990s when former head coach Hal Mumme originally ran it. Dawson spent three years as an assistant coach under Mumme from 2003-05, and he ran generally the same offense while at West Virginia. Kentucky still hasn’t blossomed into a full-blown Air Raid just yet, but it has sought out players to fit that system in its recent recruiting classes. Dawson can continue those recruiting initiatives and can pick up right where Brown left off in installing the offense in the wide-open SEC East.

2. His teams run the ball better than most would think. Despite running the Air Raid, Dawson’s teams have typically been as effective on the ground as they have been through the air. Last season WVU ran for more than 187 yards per game while UK ran for just 153 per contest, and if Dawson can get as much out of the Wildcats’ deep stable of backs as he did with the Mountaineers, Kentucky’s offense will be able to beat opponents in multiple ways. With Boom Williams returning and in-state superstar Damien Harris still deciding on a school, Dawson’s ability to lead a stout rushing attack could make him the perfect fit for UK’s particular version of the Air Raid.

3. He has a history of winning wherever he’s gone. Dawson was on the staff at Southeastern Louisiana from 2003-04 and left the school with a winning record as a coach. He moved on to Stephen F. Austin, where he won 23 of 37 games and multiple conference titles from 2008-10, and in four years at WVU the Mountaineers won at least seven games three times in addition to the 2011 Big East crown. He knows what goes into a winning program and more importantly he knows how to sustain those winning ways. Kentucky wants to win, but what it really wants is to be a winner for the next decade or more. Dawson won’t be a Wildcat for a decade, but he could help establish a culture of winning during his time in Lexington.

4. He’s a great recruiter. Dawson might not have a long list of four- and five-star recruits he’s wooed to play for him, but he finds hidden gems in every class that go on to benefit his team during their careers. The best example is his recruitment of Kevin White, a three-star wideout Dawson found and brought to WVU. White was relatively unheralded at the time, but this year he finished the season with 102 catches for more than 1,300 yards and was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the nation’s best receiver. Kentucky’s success in recruiting is predicated on finding hidden gems and making the most of them, and Dawson seems to fit that mold perfectly.

5. He has something to prove with this job. While at West Virginia, Dawson generally ran offensive-minded head coach Dana Holgersen’s offense while adding in some input of his own here and there. He was a great coach but rarely had the power to dictate the overall look of the offense in Holgersen’s regime. Now serving under defensive-minded Mark Stoops, Dawson will have complete control of the offense, allowing him the freedom to move the football however he sees fit. That freedom should allow for some passion and creativity on the offensive side of the ball, and for a program like Kentucky trying to gain buzz throughout the loaded SEC that’s not a bad thing. Recruits may find Dawson’s style fun and exciting, and it should please the fan base as well. If Dawson is hoping to earn a head coaching job down the line he’ll need to succeed as UK’s O.C. first, and that motivation will only help Kentucky in the coming years.