News broke Sunday of Neal Brown being relieved of his duties as West Virginia head coach.
The decision comes after the Mountaineers’ 52-15 loss to Texas Tech on Saturday, as the Mountaineers finished their 2024 regular season 6-6. Brown spent six years at WVU, having a cumulative record of 37-25 and two bowl wins.
West Virginia will play its Bowl game this season without Brown. Now that WVU is in the market for a new head coach, let’s look at some candidates to replace Brown in no particular order.
Jason Candle
Jason Candle, the head coach at Toledo, was also a candidate to replace Dana Holgorsen following the 2018 season. While Toledo wasn’t overwhelmingly successful this year, with a 7-5 record, the Rockets have won two MAC championships under Candle. Candle’s career record at Toledo is 72-40. While West Virginia may looking for a coach proven at the Power Four level, Candle is a viable option.
Jimbo Fisher
Jimbo Fisher, a former Florida State and Texas A&M head coach is not currently coaching. Fisher received a buyout and was fired last season by the Aggies. Fisher has one national championship under his belt, with Florida State in 2013 and a total career record of 128-48. Fisher, a West Virginia native, would be an intriguing candidate with his past success at the Power Four level.
Barry Odom
Barry Odom is a former Missouri and current UNLV head coach. The UNLV Rebels shocked many with a fast start in 2024 and are currently 10-2 and playing for a Mountain West championship. Odom was 25-25 in four years at Missouri and 19-7 in two years at UNLV. With UNLV’s current success and Odom’s experience, he could be a name to watch for West Virginia’s opening.
Dec. 8 UPDATE: Odom was hired by Purdue
Andy Kotelnicki
Andy Kotelnicki is one of three coordinators included on this list. He’s currently the offensive coordinator at Penn State, but prior to that, he was at Kansas as a coordinator and associate head coach. Kotelnicki played a vital role in helping turn around the Kansas football program before joining James Franklin’s staff in Happy Valley. With Kotelnicki’s offensive expertise, he could bring a revitalized offense to Morgantown.
Shannon Dawson
Shannon Dawson is another offensive coordinator at the University of Miami. Under Dawson, Miami’s offense has been one of the highest scorers in FBS this season. He previously worked under Holgorsen at Houston and WVU. Dawson could be a sleeper to replace Brown, given his success as a coordinator at the Power Four level and his familiarity with the program.
Tony Gibson
Tony Gibson is currently the defensive coordinator at NC State. Like Fisher and the following candidate, he is a WV native. Gibson had two tenures at WVU: 2001-2007 and 2013-2018. He left after Holgorsen took the Houston job. Gibson has been recognized for his strong recruiting efforts. Could Gibson take over as head coach at West Virginia after helping the program reach new heights in his past?
Rich Rodriguez
Fans seem to be split on this one. Rodriguez had a storied head coaching tenure at WVU but jumped ship to go coach at Michigan, where he was ultimately unsuccessful and fired. Under Rodriguez, the Mountaineers were a couple of points away from playing for a National Championship. Now, close to two decades since his departure from Morgantown, Rodriguez has led Jacksonville State to an 8-4 record, all eight of those wins in a row and now playing for a conference title. Is time and the recent and past success of Rodriguez enough for him to be welcomed back to Morgantown?
