Sunday Morning Thoughts: Wren Baker Needs to Make a Statement

Analyzing the WVU coaching situation following the disaster in Lubbock.

Schuyler Callihan | Dec 1, 2024

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West Virginia Mountaineers

The 2024 regular season has officially come to an end and there's a lot of uncertainty in regard to the future of West Virginia football and head coach Neal Brown.

Just one year after winning nine games and finishing in a tie for third place in the Big 12 Conference, WVU took a massive step backward, winning just six games with much of the offensive talent returning from the 2023 squad.

Saturday's 52-15 result in Lubbock created even more uncertainty. If the game had been competitive or the Mountaineers had won, there probably wouldn't have been as much talk about the head coach this morning. Getting crushed like that in the final game of the season leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth and makes you wonder if that was enough for the administration to make a change.

Commits are flipping to other schools, and there are more flips on the way. You can chalk that up to the team's lack of success or maybe the uncertain future of the WVU coaching staff. This is why in one way or another, WVU fans, players, and recruits need to hear from athletics director Wren Baker, and soon.

With the early signing period beginning Wednesday and the transfer portal opening just a few days later, players need to know who is going to be in charge in Morgantown. I know some things in Neal's contract would make it cheaper for WVU to wait until after the bowl game to make a move, but if you're going to make one, you might as well make it as early as possible. You want to find the next guy, retain the players you want to retain, and hit on some of the top players in the portal you can afford.

There is a narrative out there that West Virginia can't afford to pay the buyout and bring in a new staff. That's not necessarily the case. If they want to make a move, they'll make one. Brown's remaining salary doesn't have to be paid all upfront in one lump sum; it can be paid out over time. Plus, keeping Brown could cost the university more if attendance drops, NIL backing isn't as strong, and many other factors.

The one thing West Virginia can't be afraid to do is make a move. Whether that's the right call or not is up to Wren Baker. He's the one who knows WVU's financial situation and whether or not they would have the resources available after making a coaching move for the next coach to be successful. It's a new world of college athletics that we're in. This isn't the same ball game that was played for decades. With NIL a big part of constructing a roster, you have to make sure there are enough resources to make a change and then land quality players.

If Baker feels like there is a good candidate out there that he believes is not only able to land but will have everything needed to build a competitive team in year one, then a move needs to be made. The buyout isn't ideal, but winning football games will lessen the sting of that buyout, especially when the fanbase is in full support of the head coach.

It doesn't matter that the new head coach would likely be coming from the Group of Five level. Coaches make that jump all the time, and many of them work out. You can't just say well, we're going to be hiring from the same tree and will end up with the same results. Some coaches just aren't cut out for a Power Four gig, and that could be the situation here. At some point in time, whether it's this year or sometime in the future, you have to go in a different direction. If not, it's the definition of insanity.

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