Does Jordan Lesley's Firing Mean Neal Brown is Starting to Feel the Pressure?

A deeper look into Neal Brown's decision to fire Jordan Lesley.

Schuyler Callihan | Oct 29, 2024

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West Virginia Mountaineers

West Virginia head coach Neal Brown made the decision to move on from defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley on Tuesday morning.

"These decisions are never easy, but I’m confident this change is in the best interest of our program and puts us in the best position to finish strong," Brown said in a statement released by the team. "Our players have a tremendous opportunity in front of them, and I know they will give their all for WVU. Jeff Koonz will step up and serve as the defensive coordinator moving forward. I know he and our entire staff will do everything they can to help us succeed.”

While the numbers support the decision to move in a different direction, it is somewhat of a surprise for Brown to move off of someone he's worked alongside for several years. He has been known to be a very loyal person with both coaches and players, meaning this decision is a bit out of character for him.

You might think there's not much to this, but I would point out Brown's comments from Monday's press conference where he was non-committal about the quarterback situation. In prior weeks, he took offense to those questioning Garrett Greene's job status. On Monday, he said he wouldn't be able to answer who the starting quarterback will be until Greene is healthy which sounds like he's leaving the door open to making a change.

Again, this is something he hasn't done very often. Jarrett Doege struggled and even regressed throughout the latter part of his career, but Brown stuck with him. Sure, he made the change from JT Daniels to Garrett Greene at the end of 2022, but Daniels wasn't someone who had been in the program for several years. He had only been there a handful of months, and whether anyone wanted to admit it or not, he was banged up.

So, what am I getting at here?

I think Brown is starting to feel the pressure. He may "live in a bubble," but he is well aware of the discontent fanbase and knows he doesn't have an eternal leash to figure things out. If you get the sense your job may be in jeopardy, you're going to start doing things a little differently to try and produce better results. Be it switching up personnel, tweaking the scheme, shaking up the coaching staff, altering play-calling responsibilities, or so forth, changes have to be made. It shows you're trying to find solutions.

And no, this doesn't mean Brown and AD Wren Baker sat down and had a conversation about the head coach's future. This is Neal understanding that you can't just keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result. You know, the definition of insanity.

By making this move, though, it puts even more pressure on Brown down the stretch and beyond if given the opportunity to return in 2025. If there is little to no improvement made on the defensive side of the ball and the team continues to struggle to win games, all of the blame gets shifted back to Brown. Of course, everything falls to the feet of the head coach, but it's highlighted even more so when a significant change like this is made but the results stay the same.

I don't believe this move is hinged to Brown's future, however. It does not signal that this buys him more time, nor does it mean he's on the verge of being fired within the next month. At the end of the day, Wren Baker and the administration will let this season play out and assess the situation at the end of November.

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