Neal Brown should be on the phone with Tom Herman right now. He should be our OC tomorrow. That "might" save Neal Brown's job.

A six-day window has been exercised for the Nov. 30 regular season finale at Texas Tech.

Good luck competing with this...

There are only a few ‘obtainable’ coaches I would hire over this guy….IF Baker decides to fire Brown I have no doubt Chesney will get a strong look and by the time it’s all said and done I would not be surprised if we land on Bob Chesney.

A few weeks ago I alluded to some some really interesting candidates that may need another year or so before a P4 AD would feel comfortable hiring them … Bob Chesney was one of those coaches and in year one at JMU, they control their own destiny to the conference championship game if they win against app state and marshall.

Simply put Chesney has won at every school he has coached and not just won but won at some places that haven’t had a history of winning. (I added some history down below I pulled from the web) I am not going to really get into his offensive/defensive style, although I do think it would be more ground based on offense. He isn’t a coach that is going to bring gimmicks and I don’t think he is necessarily married to a specific scheme. His identity as a coach is being a superior motivator that players want to play for. “Extremely knowledgeable , intricate preparation and collaboration with his assistants, meticulous analysis, intense practices and by maximizing talent” - John Harbaugh (Chesney is one he tapped to work with via his coaching academy) It isn’t just BS coach talk though, Chesney has a history of developing talent whether it be Walter Payton award candidates at FCS level or putting guys in the pros from D2 and FCS. Even at JMU he convinced an old OL coach to leave an assistant position with the New York Giants to coach with him. Some may know the name Matt Sluka (the kid that stopped playing QB for UNLV because of shady NIL) He would probably follow Chesney if he took a P4 job btw.

I can tell you with certainty, Chesney is getting hyped by TurnkeyZRG, it may be too early this year for a P4 AD to pull the trigger but another successful season at JMU and who knows we may have more competition. Remember Baker has a really good relationship with Turnkey, he doesn’t HAVE to have an opening for the machine to be working behind the scenes. He can go to his contact and have conversations about candidates with absolute trust because she knows the job is going to open at some point. I’m sure he is having those conversations with her. Second hand info here, he was rumored to be in on the Cuse job last year but they seem to have made a great hire with Fran Brown. Some may point to him just taking over a winning Cig coached JMU team, but remember Cig poached a ton from JMU. Cig had a pass heavy offense that was turned into a rushing offense by Chesney.

This may come off corny, but he is also a major culture fit with WVU. From being born in a PA coal mining town, while coaching D3 for 5k a year he would often drive back home and work for the coal companies on the weekend.


Here is some history on Chesney:

D3 Salve Regina (Rhode Island) squad that had posted 8 straight losing seasons prior to his arrival. In his very first year there, the Seahawks posted their first winning record since 2002, going 6-4. In Year 2 the Eagles jumped to 8-3, winning the ECAC Northwest Bowl. Then in 2012, Chesney's Seahawks won their division before dropping the conference title game to post a final record of 9-2.

D2 Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts. Like Salve, Assumption was terrible before his arrival, posting only 2 winning seasons in the previous 17 years. But in Year 1 the Greyhounds managed a 6-5 record, and improved to 7-4 in Year 2. 2015 is when Assumption broke out. They went 11-2, winning their conference, winning a playoff game and finishing the year ranked #17 in the nation. The Greyhounds were back in the playoffs in Year 4, losing in the first round after another conference title, and finishing #25. 2017 was the best year in school history, as the Greyhounds made the D2 Quarterfinals, posting a record of 11-2 (And to be fair, they rested their starts in the season finale) and finishing ranked #9 in the country.

FCS Holy Cross, a team that hadn't won a conference title since 2009. In Year 1 the team went 5-6, but did manage a 4-2 conference record. The team took a big leap forward in Year 2, going 5-1 in the Patriot League en route to the team's first conference title in a decade and an FCS playoff birth, where they would lose in the first round, bringing their final record to 7-6. The team went 3-0 in a Covid-shortened 2020 season, winning another conference title and losing in the first round of the playoffs. They finished the year ranked #24 in the nation. In 2021 Chesney led Holy Cross to their first ever FCS playoff win, going 6-0 in conference play en route to a 10-3 record and #24 national ranking. In 2022 and 2023 he again won conference championship and playoff appearances.

West Virginia has offered Noah Glover. He's a 2027 LB/WR from Battlefield HS in Haymarket, VA.

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After 20 games: 10-10
After 30 games: 15-15
After 40 games: 19-21
After 50 games: 24-26
After 60 games: 31-29
After 70 games: 36-34

Three straight home losses by at least two scores. Four overall this year.

Zero wins against teams that finished the season ranked.

Throw the damn towel.

Stop playing nice and tiptoeing around it. Brown knows that he is gone so why not say it. You know it’s being used against us in recruiting already.

You have had head coaches in waiting and you have had interim head coaches. Why not have an official lame duck head coach like Stew so you can start openly looking for a replacement? If he gets mad and resigns, you have accomplished your goal.

Basically say in a public way that calms the fans, we will keep you if you make us but you are only getting a year.

“I want to apologize to our fans. WVU football has not performed to the level expected of this proud program and I am committed to retiring our winning tradition.

We would like to move on from our head coach. But the prior athletic director signed an uneven deal with Coach Brown and we can not afford to fire him in 2024 with the uncertainty associated with the House setttlement and its impact on college athletics. Therefore, Coach Brown will return for the 2025 season while we seek a replacement starting in 2026.”

Or just hire a head coach in waiting and put him on the staff if you are going to hire a coordinator or lower level head coach if you are worried about stability? That way you don’t have to replace a whole staff since that is one of the financial concerns.

I guarantee that would force Brown to the table to work out a deal.

How is Neal Brown not fired yet? I mean Colorado went out and got Deion Sanders and we got Ned Flanders, WTF?

--West Virginia played really poor complimentary football. Baylor played well. On special teams, West Virginia didn't punt the ball well and gave up an explosive kickoff return due to a kick that didn't have a lot of hang-time. The units were good in terms of speed and physicality. They did some nice things in the return game and Preston Fox had a big day. On defense, they had three consecutive drives they held Baylor without points and played the way they are capable of but they've been inconsistent. But they didn't have any takeaways, end of possession downs was bad and a lot of explosive plays. They did a poor job tearing off blocks. Reid Carrico played a lot of snaps and was very productive. Sean Martin continues to play at a high level and Asani Redwood played well. The disappointing piece was the third quarter on offense just missed opportunities. The positive is against a good defensive unit, they ran the ball effectively and had a high number of defensive plays. They did a lot of good things overall.

--Injuries Ayden Garnes and Aubrey Burks are both out. Jaden Bray is doubtful at this point. Traylon Ray is definitely out.

--UCF has a very good running back in RJ Harvey. Their offensive line is good and they have good skill at wide receiver. They play really sound football and are aggressive. Back-to-back really productive games and they played really well at Arizona State. Guz Malzahn has had a lot of success in November. They are a fast team that is built on speed. West Virginia needs to play a full three phase game and that's what they're hunting and the lack of that is why they are 5-5.

--It's senior day and Brown says he would be proponent of doing all the senior stuff at the beginning of the year because everybody is healthy and there's still a lot in front of you. They try to train their guys because it's a tough deal with how all the things are different. You get your name called, your family is waiting for you the only time in your career and it can be emotional and even if the players aren't there. Then there is a flash back. The days are long but the years are fast. You have to train yourself throughout the week but it is what it is. They will have several guys that will walk and he stresses not to read too much into anybody that walks with eligibility left.

--Pass defense has been an issue all year but you have to continue to work on it. The frustrating part is the inconsistency of it. There is times they match routes and have good coverage, but times they don't. They had a ball completed against cover three against Baylor that never should have happened. When you're playing defense if you don't have 11 pieces doing your job and the offense finds the one that isn't it's a big play. The edge of the defense was a gap wider then he should have been and the linebacker was a gap too wide and it was out the gate for a huge touchdown run. All 11 have to work in concert together and when it doesn't things like that happen. That's an issue and pass coverage has been an issue.

--It's frustration at all levels. They had a team meeting this morning and he takes the most ownership because at the end of the day it's his fault. They want to follow how they want to lead them and if they make mistakes it's on the coaches. The players are frustrated that they aren't performing consistently but all you can do is go back to work.

--Brown thinks the box communication has been solid all year on defense, very few issues there but as far as change in fronts there hasn't been any issues there. There's not a whole lot with the front but the biggest communication piece is when the picture moves making sure they are on the same page. Now what can't happen is them be explosive which is the problem with the defense.

--Brown said they will miss Traylon Ray. By the time Ray is done here he is going to be a great player. They're going to miss him but they got some guys that will plug and play. Preston Fox will take a bigger role, Justin Robinson needs to play more like he did against Cincinnati and not like last week.

--Ric'Darious Farmer played more snaps in the game and will continue to rotate at slot with Rodney Gallagher.

--Brown feels like he could have beaten Iowa State and Baylor at home yes, but they didn't play well. Kansas State they were decimated in the second half. Anytime you get beat you're doing a disservice to your opponent if you just say you played bad. Brown said he wouldn't read too much into his comments on the opponents at home.

--It's disappointing how they have played at home. But they should play better at home than what they've played and that criticism is fair.

--This is the first week they've had where they haven't been mathematically alive. All the other stuff is external, but the internal motivation is to prepare and play your best. You're not doing the game justice if you don't take advantage of the opportunities. You need to prepare the best today to give yourself an opportunity to play your best Saturday.

--Brown is in a disgruntled mode of how they played Saturday and getting their guys to play well in all three phases.

--Defensively they have to contain the run game against UCF and they have to meet their physicality. On offense, the number one thing is to establish the run game. And they have to get some easy completions for Garrett Greene and get the ball down the field. On special teams, the protection units have to be on point and do a nice job in the coverage units and the specialists will bounce back.

--West Virginia tackled really poorly in the first half against Baylor and has to tackle better against UCF.

--Brown was trying to create communication with the tempo and the motions and shifts to start the game against Baylor.

--Brandon Rehmann will be up on special teams and he's getting better at wide receiver.

9 carries total yesterday. 1 in the second half. He is criminally underutilized. By all means, chuck the ball all over the yard with a quarterback that has a history of accuracy issues and expect a different result.

Greetings to all the Mountaineer faithful!!

We are headed to Morgantown for the Baylor game next weekend on our annual boys weekend. (We refer to this trip as our "Fall Cathedral Tour").

Some quick background. There are four of us, three Oregon State Beaver fans... and one Duck fan (but we let him come with us anyways). We pick a different college football stadium every year with one simple goal. We want to experience gameday with true fans of the school we are adopting. We come in blazing the home team's colors, drink with the fans at the local watering hole Friday (while buying college kids drinks...LOL), tailgate with our new people Saturday, and generally treat the trip as if we were alumni that haven't back in 20 years.

The list of stadiums we have visited includes: Penn State, Tennessee, Alabama, Mizzou, Wisconsin, Michigan, Texas A &M, South Carolina (how does anyone even become a fan of SC??!!), Florida, Auburn, Florida State, Mississippi State, Georgia, LSU, and ND, Florida, Oklahoma (in no particular order)

*The great experiences could hardly be tallied, but here are a few over the years:
*Holding the banner the players go under at Auburn

*Golf cart tour of the behind the scenes at ND

*Locker room tour at Penn State

*Picture on the field with Chief Osceola at Florida State

*Rented an RV and parked it next to the stadium at Alabama

*Moonshine out of a mason jar at Tennessee

*Turtle soup at LSU

*White out at Penn State

*Meeting Barry Switzer in OK.


... the list goes on and on!!

Unquestionably, the very best part of the trip are the people we meet!! What we have learned is that there is no better way to really experience a gameday, than by immersing ourselves in the tailgating!

So a few questions:
1. What can we not miss while we are in Morgantown? What do we absolutely have to experience?

2. Anyone have some sort of insider access that they could help us with? (Locker room tour... ?? ).

3. Great bar areas for Friday night and after the game Saturday?

4. Great restaurants? Both dinner and diver bar/cafes?

5. We often pair this trip with some sort of "man" activity. Any local ideas? In the past we have gone bow fishing, played golf, skeet shooting.... what "local" flavor activity should we try and do?

All of the above is really a precursor to this ask. We would love to join/stop by your tailgate if you were interested in talking college football with some true fans! Anybody game to let us crash your party? Let me know if you are game for for us to stop by and help us celebrate our entrance to all things WVU!

I'm looking forward to getting some input from the experts, thanks so much in advance for making the boys from Oregon feel welcome!! GO Mountaineers!!

Dave
dl@teamlivingston.net

WVU was humiliated at home for the fourth time this year and I haven't even had to ask one person to calm down. People love to throw "apathy" around but it's usually overused and even misused. I'm not trying to be funny here or dramatic, what I'm seeing is a really bad sign. People will usually fight you for so long and then they just walk away. I've been told again tonight that the talk among the top group of donors before the game was that the money isn't there to fire him. Now everyone is asking how much that changed after the loss. That may become more clear tomorrow and Monday.

ShaDon Brown is still employed.

Is Brutal. We’ll be lucky to win 5 games regardless of who’s coaching this team. #makethemove

Now I know Bean is a below average coach with respect to everything involving running a program, but we need to take a look at his assistants. Most legit programs have an assistant or 2 on staff that are within 1-3 years of becoming a head coach somewhere, or a coordinator at a major program. Can we point to anyone on our staff that we can say that about? Certainly not. No other programs are sneaking around the Puskar Center saying, "we need that guy to run our program or run our offense". This creates a significant problem with our play calling, schemes, player development, watching film, finding opponent weaknesses, recruiting, evaluations, and game planning. Looks like we've got a bunch of hacks and Neal Brown sycophants that are low level assistants that don't offer much. And I realize that it's Bean who hires them and probably wants a bunch of "yes" men. But assistant coach talent seems to be lacking.