The West Virginia Mountaineers fired head coach Neal Brown following a 6-6 campaign that fell well short of preseason expectations. With the college football coaches carousel now getting moving, there are already rumors emerging about who will be the next Mountaineers football coach.
West Virginia seemed to turn things around in 2023 under Brown, winning 9 games including the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. It offered hope for the football program that Brown had finally gotten things on track and had turned West Virginia into a perennial winner. Instead, the team regressed this past season.
Related: Heisman Watch 2024, final Heisman Trophy rankings
- Neal Brown coaching record: 37-35 as the West Virginia Mountaineers head coach
Brown replaced Dana Holgorsen, who consistently had West Virginia winning between 7-10 games every year from 2014-’18. When Holgorsen left for Houston, a gig he’s since been fired from, the Mountaineers’ athletic department saw an opportunity to make a culture change.
It didn’t work out. The Mountaineers never won more than six games in Brown’s first four seasons at the helm, winning just one bowl game over that span. With the 2024 campaign serving as the final straw leading to his termination, it appears the program is setting its sights much higher during this coaching search.
Related: Highest-paid college football coaches
According to John Brice of FootballScoop.com, former Texas A&M Aggies coach Jimbo Fisher is on West Virginia’s radar and the former national champion “does have an interest” in the gig. In addition, Rich Rodriguez is also believed to be one of the targets of the Mountaineers coaching search.
- Jimbo Fisher coaching record: 128-48 overall, 8-2 in bowl games
Even if Fisher became the next West Virginia football coach, Texas A&M would still be on the hook for the entirety of his $75 million buyout with none of it nullified by whatever salary he would receive from WVU. He’s also considered a strong candidate for the vacancy because he’s a West Virginia native who went to Liberty High School in Clarksburg, West Virginia and then later graduated from Samford University.
Related: Week 15 college football rankings
While Fisher seems to be one of the top West Virginia coaching candidates, Rodriguez might have even more support from around the program. Brice noted that Mountaineers’ almost Pat McAfee has “made clear” to supporters that he would favor Rodriguez’s return to the program.
- Rich Rodriguez coaching record: 135-91 overall, 60-26 with the West Virginia Mountaineers
Rodriguez previously served as the Mountaineers coach from 2001-’07, delivering three seasons with double-digit wins before leaving the program for the Michigan Wolverines. Bruce Feldman of The Athletic also reported that WVU booster Ken Kendrick has stayed in Rodriguez’s corner and “a lot of the money people” supporting the program are huge fans of Rodriguez.
While there are some other West Virginia coaching candidates drawing some buzz, Rodriguez and Fisher seem to be the two leading names right now. With Rodriguez actively having success with Jacksonville State – 17-8 over the last two seasons – he could quickly emerge as the favorite to return.
