West Virginia defensive coordinator Tony Gibson agrees to new deal

West Virginia defensive coordinator Tony Gibson has agreed to a new three-year contract that could him make him one of the nation’s top 10 paid assistants according to a source

West Virginia defensive coordinator Tony Gibson has agreed to a new three-year contract that could him make him one of the nation’s top 10 paid assistants according to a source.

The agreement comes after Gibson had been contacted about other jobs. He’s become a hot commodity in his first season overseeing Mountaineers’ defense, transforming it from one of the nation’s worst last year to the upper half of the FBS.

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Also a top recruiter, the 42-year-old Gibson returned to West Virginia last season as safeties coach before being promoted to his current position in February. He was with the Mountaineers from 2001-07 as safeties coach and recruiting coordinator under Rich Rodriguez.

This season, West Virginia (7-5) is 56th nationally in total defense (388.6 yards per game) and 61st in scoring defense (26.2 points per game). Last season, the Mountaineers were 101st (455 yards per game) and 99th (33.3 points per game) in those respective categories during a disappointing 4-8 campaign.

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The improvement has been a welcomed sight for fourth-year West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen, whose offenses have been potent, but has had his struggles defensively.

Gibson’s finest performance this season came in the Mountaineers’ 41-27 win against Baylor in mid-October. Besides it being the Bears’ lone loss this season, their high-powered offense was held to just 318 yards of yardage, the lowest since 2010.