Seven Candidates WVU Should Consider to Replace Neal Brown

West Virginia needs a new head football coach. We've got a handful of ideas, and then some.

Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

West Virginia decided to fire head football coach Neal Brown on Sunday and will be looking for its 36th coach in program history over the next few weeks. There are a handful of names I think would make a lot of sense as Brown's replacement. Let's roll through them.

Barry Odom - UNLV

Odom is the first name that comes to mind due to his ties with WVU AD Wren Baker, whom he spent time with at Memphis and Missouri. Odom was the defensive coordinator at Memphis from 2012-14 before accepting the same job at Missouri. In 2016, he was promoted to head coach after Gary Pinkel stepped down following the 2015 campaign. Odom went 25-25 in his four years on the job before getting let go. He returned to the head coach seat last year at UNLV, a program that has struggled to win throughout its existence and has managed to turn it around with a 19-7 record over the last two seasons. With a win over Boise State in the Mountain West Conference championship, he'll have the Runnin' Rebels in the College Football Playoff.

Nick Saban - free agent

The odds of Saban taking over at West Virginia feel slim to none, but hey, you never know in this world anymore. This would be a home run for the Mountaineers, landing the best coaching in the history of college football. Is this something Saban would even be interested in? I don't know that he would seriously consider it, but if you are WVU the worst thing he can do is say no, right?

Jimbo Fisher - free agent

Jimbo, another native son of West Virginia, would probably like to get back into a head coaching job at the Power Four level, and after the massive payday he received from Texas A&M, it may not take a massive contract to bring him back to the Mountain state. He went 83-23 in his eight years at Florida State, including winning a national championship in 2013. In six years at A&M, Fisher compiled a record of 45-25 and reeled in several top recruiting classes during his tenure.

Jamey Chadwell - Liberty

Chadwell has slowly but surely climbed his way through the coaching ranks and has turned into one of the most talked about Group of Five head coaches since flipping the Coastal Carolina program around in 2020. He went 39-22 during his time at Coastal, including a 31-6 mark over his last three years at the helm. In his first year at Liberty, he led the Flames to a 13-1 record. This year, they went 8-3, with their matchup against Appalachian State being canceled due to Hurricane Helene. He will be a hot candidate this cycle.

Rich Rodriguez - Jacksonville State

The former WVU head coach has been a popular name that's been thrown around amongst the fans for quite some time. When you look around the Group of Five level, there is no one more accomplished and proven than Rich Rod. When he left WVU for Michigan in 2007, it felt like the relationship between him and the state would never be repaired. After several years of average to above-average results, Mountaineer fans look back on the Rich Rod era in awe. Bringing Rich Rod back would certainly anger a big portion of the fan base, but they'll forgive him if he wins.

Andy Kotelnicki - Penn State offensive coordinator

Kotelnicki is going to be a fine head coach someday, possibly as early as next season. He helped Lance Leipold turn around Buffalo and then Kansas. The job he did at Kansas was remarkable, and his absence showed early on in the season when the Jayhawks continued to come up on the wrong end of one-score games.

Jason Candle - Toledo

Candle may not be considered a fancy pick, but he has built a consistent winner in the MAC at Toledo. During his 10 years on the job, he's compiled a record of 72-40 and has pushed the Rockets into the AP Top 25 on a couple of occasions.

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