A Deep Dive Into the 2025 WVU Football Coaching Staff

Taking a close look at the new football staff in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Schuyler Callihan | Feb 13, 2025

West Virginia University head coach Rich Rodriguez / Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

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West Virginia Mountaineers

There could be some minor tweaks made to Rich Rodriguez's coaching staff at West Virginia between now and the start of the 2025 season, but in large part, he has his group of assistants assembled.

Instead of having to search individually for each assistant and what their background is, we've put it all in one spot for you. Here's a list of every coach on the WVU Football staff with a bio included.

Rich Rodriguez - Head Coach

WVU Athletics Communication

Rodriguez, a native of Grant Town, West Virginia, was the head coach for the Mountaineers from 2001-07. He compiled a 60-26 record and became the second-winningest coach in program history, behind only Don Nehlen. Dana Holgorsen passed him in total wins, but he remains the third-winningest coach based on win percentage, behind only Clarence Spears and Bill Stewart.

After his departure from West Virginia, Rodriguez spent three years as the head coach at Michigan and then served as the lead man for the Arizona Wildcats from 2012-17 where he won 43 games in six years, becoming that program's third-winningest coach.

In his latest challenge, he was tasked with helping Jacksonville State transition from FCS to FBS and did so in style. The Gamecocks became the first team in college football history to reach a bowl game in each of their first two seasons after making the jump up a level. Not only did Jax State accomplish that, but they won the Conference-USA championship over Western Kentucky in convincing fashion, 52-12.

Zac Alley - Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers

BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

Oklahoma defensive coordinator Zac Alley walks on the field before a University of Oklahoma (OU) Sooners spring football game at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, April 20, 2024. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

Alley, 30, is the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Oklahoma. Before reuniting with Brent Venables in Norman, Alley spent two years as the coordinator on Rodriguez's staff at Jacksonville State. The two also spent the 2021 season together on Terry Bowden's staff at UL Monroe where he was the youngest coordinator (27) at the FBS level.

In his two years at Jax State, Alley's unit finished 33rd in scoring defense and 43rd in total defense. The Gamecocks were stout against the run, allowing just 2.8 yards per carry while causing a ton of havoc by creating 25 turnovers (16 interceptions) and a 13th-place finish nationally in sacks per game (2.9).

That success has carried over into his new post at Oklahoma in his first year on the job. The Sooners have seen drastic improvements in the four key defensive statistical categories, as shown below.

Alley ran a lot of odd stack at Jacksonville State but mixed in a good dose of four-man configurations to keep the offense off-balance. During his one year at Oklahoma, he adapted to Venables' 4-2-5 scheme but did implement some three-man looks, which helped the Sooners' defense considerably.

Travis Trickett - Senior Offensive Assistant

Dec 28, 2021; Phoenix, AZ, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers tight ends coach Travis Trickett against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Trickett spent time on the Mountaineer football staff from 2019-21 as tight ends and inside receivers coach before becoming the offensive coordinator at USF. He spent the last two seasons at Coastal Carolina as offensive coordinator.

Prior to West Virginia, Trickett was the offensive coordinator at Georgia State (2017-18), where he helped the Panthers finish with a school-record seven wins and their first winning season at the FBS level. In 2016 as Florida Atlantic’s offensive coordinator, his unit set FAU season records for rushing yards, yards per carry, and rushing touchdowns. He worked at Samford from 2011-15 and coached three different positions, became the offensive coordinator, and helped the Bulldogs to five straight winning seasons, a Southern Conference championship,

Trickett started his coaching career as a student assistant at West Virginia from 2003-06 before spending a year as a graduate assistant at Alabama and two years as graduate assistant at Florida State, working on the coaching staffs of Bobby Bowden, Jimbo Fisher, Nick Saban, and Rich Rodriguez in his young career.

Rhett Rodriguez - Quarterbacks Coach

Nov 20, 2021; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; Louisiana Monroe Warhawks quarterback Rhett Rodriguez (4) warms up against LSU Tigers during the first half at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Rodriguez comes to Morgantown from Jacksonville State, where he served as an offensive analyst for the 2024 season and helped lead the Gamecocks to the CUSA regular season and conference championships.

Rodriguez was a quarterback at Louisiana-Monroe, in the Sun Belt Conference, in 2021, and at Arizona, in the Pac-12 Conference, from 2017-20.

At ULM, he served as a team captain and was heavily involved in the weekly game planning as he assisted in breaking down opponent tendencies and analyzing film for the entire offensive unit. Aside from practically being another coach on the field, he completed 51% of his passes for the Warhawks, throwing for 799 yards and four touchdowns. His teammates voted him as the offensive representative on the player leadership council to not only the head coach but to the athletic administration.

Pat White - Assistant Quarterbacks Coach/Assistant to the Head Coach

Dec 27, 2008; Charlotte, NC, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Pat White (5) speaks to the fans while holding the game most valuable player award after his teams win over the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Meineke Car Care Bowl at Bank of America Stadium. West Virginia defeated North Carolina 31-30. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Arguably the greatest Mountaineer football player to ever live, Pat White, is coming back home to Morgantown. During his time as the starting quarterback at West Virginia, he led the Mountaineers to three consecutive 11-win seasons and helped create one of the most explosive offensive attacks in all of college football.

After a brief stint in the NFL, White took some time off before getting into the coaching space in 2018, getting his start as the quarterbacks coach at Alcorn State. After spending two years there, he was hired as the running backs coach at South Florida. In 2021, he moved back into a quarterback-coaching role at Alabama State before making the jump to the NFL, serving as an offensive assistant for the Los Angeles Chargers.

Chad Scott - Running Backs Coach

West Virginia University offensive coordinator and running backs coach Chad Scott. / Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

Scott was one of, if not the top assistant on Neal Brown's staff over the past six years, churning out the most production, and has been an elite recruiter for the program. The players have a strong relationship with him, and that was evident during the coaching transition when he was named the interim head coach. WVU fell behind Memphis 17-0 in the Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl, and instead of folding or mailing it in, they fought back and had a chance to win the game at the end before a Garrett Greene interception ended it.

This season, West Virginia was 29th in rushing, averaging 185.9 yards per game. Last season, the Mountaineers finished fifth nationally, averaging 222.7 yards a game.

Ryan Garrett - Wide Receivers Coach

Garrett has been with Rodriguez since 2021. He first became a member of his staff as a graduate assistant coach at Louisiana-Monroe before following him to Jacksonville State and served as the wide receivers coach at Jacksonville State since 2022.

In 2024, he helped lead the Gamecocks to a 9-5 record, the Conference USA championship and a spot in a second straight bowl game. The JSU offense finished No. 4 in FBS in rushing, No. 6 in first-down offense, No. 8 in passing yards per completion, No. 11 in scoring offense and No. 21 in total offense.

In Garrett’s first season at Jax State in 2022, he helped guide the Gamecocks to a 9-2 record that included a 5-0 mark in conference play and the 2022 ASUN Conference title. The Gamecocks had one of the most efficient offenses in the nation, ranking No. 5 nationally in yards per reception and No. 10 in scoring offense. Fourteen different Gamecocks caught at least one pass in 2022, while nine of those found the end zone at least once.

He started his coaching career at Ole Miss, where he began as a student assistant and eventually served as an offensive graduate assistant working with the Rebels’ quarterbacks under Rodriguez in 2019. That season, the Rebels ranked third in total offense in the SEC, averaging 445.3 yards per game, behind only Alabama and LSU.

Blaine Stewart - Inside Receivers Coach

West Virginia University tight ends coach Blaine Stewart. / Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

Stewart served under former head coach Neal Brown as the tight ends coach the last two seasons.

Prior to WVU, Stewart was the assistant wide receivers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers, after previously serving two seasons as a coaching assistant.

In 2020, he assisted a wide receiver's room that included rookie wide receiver Chase Claypool, who led all rookies in touchdown catches (9) and finished second among all rookies in total touchdowns (11). His responsibilities include game preparation, video analysis and scouting of opponents.

As a coaching assistant for two seasons (2018-19), Stewart handled the daily operations for the offense and special teams units.

Stewart is the son of former WVU head coach Bill Stewart, who led the Mountaineers to one of its greatest post season wins in program history with a win over Oklahoma in the 2008 Fiesta Bowl, which featured his pregame speech captioned "Leave No Doubt" that has captivated college football fans for over a decade.

Michael Nysewander - Tight Ends Coach

Jan 11, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide tight end Michael Nysewander (46) against the Clemson Tigers in the 2016 CFP National Championship at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Nysewander is one of the handful of assistants who will be following Rodriguez to Morgantown from Jacksonville State. After a short stint in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs, he was hired as an assistant on Lane Kiffin's staff at Florida Atlantic in 2017. He helped the offense and special teams unit for a couple of seasons before moving into the assistant director of player development role.

Nysewander earned his first position gig as the running backs coach at Samford, where he spent one year before reuniting with Kiffin at Ole Miss as a senior analyst. He's spent the last two years with Rodriguez at Jacksonville State, where he helped coach tight end Sean Brown to All-Conference USA Second Team honors, finishing with 19 receptions, with five going for touchdowns.

Before he got into coaching, Nysewander was a tight end at Alabama and was a part of their national championship team in 2015.

Jack Bicknell Jr. - Offensive Line Coach

Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC

U of L Head Coach Scott Satterfield, left, chats with new Offensive Line Coach Jack Bicknell Jr. during practice at the Trager Center in Louisville, Ky. on Feb. 10, 2021. Uofl 04 Sam / Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Bicknell Jr., 61, took a year off from coaching this past season after spending one year as the offensive line coach at Wisconsin. He spent one year on the same staff as Rich Rodriguez while at Ole Miss in 2019, where Rich Rod was the offensive coordinator for Matt Luke.

Bicknell has nearly 40 years of coaching experience and even dipped his toes into the NFL space from 2009-15, spending time with the New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Miami Dolphins.

From 1999-2006, Bicknell served as the head coach at Louisiana Tech, where he went 43-52. Other schools he's coached at include New Hampshire, Boston College, Auburn, Louisville, and North Carolina.

William Green - Defensive Line Coach

William Green was a player on the Florida Gators' 2008 national championship team. For his career, he totaled 53 tackles, 11 for a loss, and 2.5 sacks. Green was on the same staff as Rodriguez at UL-Monroe and was one of the handful of coaches he brought with him to Jax State.

During his time at Jax State, Green helped coach four players to All-Conference USA honors. This past season, the Gamecocks were No. 2 in Conference USA in tackles for loss, No. 3 in sacks, and No. 4 in rushing defense.

Jeff Casteel - Bandits Coach

Jan 2, 2008; Glendale, AZ; USA; West Virginia Mountaineers defensive coordinator linebackers coach Jeff Casteel during warmups before game against the Oklahoma Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Casteel, a native of Paden City, West Virginia, first joined Rodriguez's staff in 2001 as the defensive line coach after spending some time at Shepherd and UTEP. In 2002, he was promoted to co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach and then the following season earned another promotion, becoming the full-time defensive coordinator, a role that he held through 2011, also coaching for Bill Stewart and Dana Holgorsen.

In 2012, he reunited with Rich Rod at Arizona, serving as the coordinator there for four seasons. His last actual on-field coaching stint was as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Nevada from 2017-19. He did return to WVU to coach outside linebackers under Neal Brown in 2020, but that was, of course, in a COVID-shortened season. He then stepped into a senior defensive analyst role through 2023.

Rod West - Cornerbacks Coach

Rod West was included in the AFCA's 35 best coaches under 35 recently. He served as the corners coach and pass game coordinator at Appalachian State over the past four seasons. There, he helped the Mountaineers win a pair of Sun Belt titles and secured a big win over No. 6 Texas A&M in 2022. Before his time at App State, West was the co-defensive coordinator and corners coach at Richmond.

Henry Weinreich - Nickels/Sams Coach

Weinreich comes to West Virginia from Oklahoma, where he worked with WVU defensive coordinator Zac Alley as a defensive analyst, focusing on the linebackers and safeties. Aside from game-day duties, he was responsible for opponent breakdowns and scouting reports. During his tenure, he helped mentor two All-SEC performers, including consensus All-American Danny Stutsman.

Prior to Oklahoma, Weinreich worked at Jacksonville State from 2020-23, serving as a graduate assistant before being promoted to defensive analyst, where he worked with the Gamecock linebackers. Aside from game-day duties, he was responsible for opponent breakdowns and scouting reports. During his tenure, he coached three all-conference performers.

Prior to Jax State, Weinreich was at West Georgia as a graduate assistant, working with the linebackers as well as the scout offensive and special teams units. He coached linebacker Korie Rogers, who was an honorable mention All-American.

Weinreich also turned in coaching stints on the defensive side of the ball at Rhodes College (2018-19) where he had two all-conference selections, and at Washington University (2017-18), coaching yet another all-conference performer.

Gabe Franklin - Safeties Coach

A four-year letterwinner and three-time all-league cornerback at Boise State, Franklin had a successful tenure at his alma mater where he served as the safeties coach in 2016 and oversaw the nickels starting in 2019. He was with the Broncos for five seasons and helped the defense improve immediately. In his debut season, the Bronco defense allowed just 23.3 points per game, a mark that ranked No. 29 nationally. That number dropped to 22.9 points allowed per game in 2017 and 22.1 points per game in 2018. During his time at Boise, four safeties earned All-Mountain West honors.

Prior to coming to West Virginia, Franklin served in various roles around the Mansfield, Texas, community, including founding F4 Sports Academy and teaching high school business while coaching football and soccer at Timberview High.

He also spent five seasons at UTEP, where he served as defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator. He joined the UTEP staff as cornerbacks coach in 2011 before being elevated to defensive backs coach in 2013 and recruiting coordinator in 2014. In his final two seasons there, the Miners’ secondary combined for 72 pass breakups.

Franklin began his coaching career at Bishop O'Dowd High School, his prep alma mater, in Oakland, California, in 2007. The following season, he joined the staff at California as an administrative assistant on the defensive side, a role in which he served for two seasons before a one-year stint as the cornerbacks coach at San Diego in 2010.

Pat Kirkland - Special Teams Coordinator/Defensive Assistant Coach

This will mark the third time that Kirkland has worked with Rodriguez, having served on his staff at WVU in 2006 and 2007 and at Jacksonville State from 2022-2024.

Kirkland was the special teams’ coordinator and bandits coach under Rodriguez at Jacksonville State for three years.

In 2024, the Gamecocks special teams were ranked No. 2 in Conference USA in kickoff return and kick return defense, net punting, punt returns and punt return defense. The kick return defense was ranked No. 22 nationally and his punter, Jack Dawson, was ranked No. 17 nationally.

During the 2023 season, the Gamecocks averaged 62.1 yards per kickoff with 39 touchbacks. On defense, Jax State led Conference USA in sacks largely due to his Bandits group racking up 39 sacks in 13 games, resulting in 291 lost yards.

His special teams units were also difference makers for Jax State in 2022, ranking fourth nationally in net punting, 10th in kickoff returns and seventh in blocked punts. Alen Karajic broke school records for scoring in a game by a kicker and for consecutive field goals made during the year, as well.

Other assistant coaches

Isaiah Macklin (Assistant Quarterbacks Coach), Noel Devine (Offensive Analyst/Assistant Running Backs Coach), Ryan Nehlen (Senior Offensive Assistant/Pass Game Specialist/Assistant to the Head Coach), Drake Dressler (Assistant Offensive Line Coach), Ryan Alexander (Assistant Offensive Line Coach), Jake Casteel (Assistant Defensive Coach), Tucker Donati (Assistant Special Teams Coach), Chris Haering (Assistant Special Teams Coordinator), Andrew Warwick (Assistant Defensive Coach), Jac'Cquez Williams (Defensive Analyst)