MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — A day after the firing of Neal Brown as the head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers, rumors of who will replace him are starting to heat up around Morgantown and across the nation. Earlier, ESPN, “the Wide World Leader of Sports”, released its “nine coaches to watch at West Virginia” list. Many of the names listed are ones that VOM included in its first hotboard, but there are a few new, interesting names includes as well. Let’s take a look at the list and ESPN’s reason for including them:
Jacksonville State coach Rich Rodriguez: “A RichRod return would be the ultimate WVU homecoming. Some might never forgive him for his first exit from Morgantown, but that was 17 years ago. Rodriguez, 61, has had plenty of bumps along the way, but his performance at Jacksonville State reinforces that he can still successfully lead teams. Jacksonville State is 26-10 under Rodriguez and will play for a Conference USA title later this week. He’s 189-129-2 overall as a head coach, but his success at West Virginia — 60-26 overall, AP top-11 finishes in each of his final three seasons – jumps out. West Virginia might not want a nostalgia hire, but Rodriguez could be exactly what the program needs right now.”
Liberty coach Jamey Chadwell: “He could be a candidate for just about any upcoming Power 4 opening, especially those in the South, Southeast or mid-Atlantic. Chadwell, 47, is 52-10 since the start of the 2020 season at Coastal Carolina and Liberty, which he led to a 13-0 start and a Fiesta Bowl appearance in 2023. The knock on him remains no Power 4 experience, even as an assistant, but his distinct offense and understanding of how to oversee programs has worked at multiple places. Chadwell is a Tennessee native who worked mostly in South Carolina before Liberty, which isn’t far from WVU.”
Jimbo Fisher: “He’s out of coaching and sitting on a historic pile of buyout money, but Fisher likely will find his way back to the sideline. The Clarksburg, West Virginia, native could return home and bring national championship credentials and buzz to WVU. But Fisher is also 11 years removed from his national title team at Florida State, and he dramatically underachieved with Texas A&M, which paid more than $75 million to fire him. Fisher, 59, wouldn’t have the same resources in Morgantown, and he would need to sell Baker on a stronger plan for staffing, talent acquisition and other areas.”
UNLV coach Barry Odom: “The Big 12 seems like a logical next stop for Odom, who hasn’t coached in the league but has been on the outskirts at Missouri, Arkansas and Memphis. He has put himself at or near the top of the Group of 5 coaching wish list with two excellent seasons at UNLV, which once again will play for a Mountain West title later this week. Odom is 19-7 with the Rebels after a 25-25 run as Missouri’s head coach. He brings a strong defensive background but also has openness to innovative offense, like the “Go-Go” scheme coordinator Brennan Marion operates at UNLV.”
These appear to be four of the universally-accepted most likely candidates to land the job, but ESPN added a few other interesting names that have not been mentioned elsewhere: Marshall head coach Charles Huff, Miami offensive coordinator and former offensive coordinator at West Virginia under Dana Hologorsen, Shannon Dawson, UAB head Coach Bill Clark, Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield and Western Kentucky head coach Tyson Helton.
In a message released on the West Virginia University Athletics official website yesterday, WVU director of athletics Wren Baker had the following to say about what to expect from his search for the next Mountaineers head coach: “We will keep our focus on the incredible young men in our program and preparing for our bowl game,” Baker added. “Our national search for WVU’s 36th head football coach is already underway. I am confident that with the strong alignment among the University leadership, our passionate supporters, our proud history and our willingness to invest, we will have an outstanding pool of candidates.”
