Dr. Mr. (fill in the blank with anybody other than Neal Brown):
Those who do not learn from mistakes are doomed to repeat them. So, please, do not repeat the blunders of Neal Brown and his overpaid and underperforming assistants. You are in a results-based business and the results of Coach Brown and his staff were embarassingly poor, which resulted in their dismissal. You are left to clean up Coach Brown's mess and return the Mountaineers to respectability. You will be given several years. Here are a few things that must be at the top of your immediate To-Do List:
1. Recruit a quarterback who is actually a threat to complete a pass.
2. No more midget quarterbacks.
3. Recruit some skill-position players who are quick-twitch athletes. WVU's best teams had quick-twitch guys, like Tavon Austin, Jock Sanders, Steve Slaton, Pat White, Amos Zereoue, etc. The teams under Coach Brown had no quick-twitch guys, which meant it was filled with guys who could not make tacklers miss and create something out of nothing, which meant no explosive plays.
4. When the son of a former WVU standout wants to play quarterback at WVU, and he's being recruited by other Power-5 programs, and is better than any quarterback you have on your roster, then offer him a scholarship and put him at the top of your recruiting board.
5. A dual-threat quarterback is always better than one-trick pony at QB.
6. Recruit -- please, please, please -- recruit size and strength. Make it a priority. WVU was laughed at by Big XII opponents for looking like a high school-sized team, not a Power-5 program. For years, our front 7 on defense was pushed around like ragdolls by Big XII teams that play grown-man football (Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma etc.) and the number of missed tackles, because our defensive players are too small and too weak -- that's the No. 1 cause of missed tackles -- was alarming. Our offensive line also failed to generate push when playing legitimate defenses, so recruit size on the OL. Remember, bigger is better.
7. Recruit a center who can make a shotgun snap without sailing it over the QB's head.
8. Do not go to the transfer portal for defensive backs from places like Duquesne, Charlotte and bad I-AA programs. The guys were at those schools because they do not have Power-5 skills. If you're going to get guys from the portal (which is a must at WVU), you get guys from Power-5 programs.
9. Hire assistant coaches who actually like -- OK, at least don't hate -- recruiting and are good at it.
10. Recruit a fullback. You can easily find a good one because most D-I teams don't utilize a fullback, so there are a bunch of good ones out there. Try putting the FB into the offense. You'd be amazed what a FB can do for your running game.
11. Don't be afraid to try something different on offense. I don't care if you want to run the triple option. At least then you would establish an identity. Coach Brown was here for six forgettable years and failed to establish an indentity for WVU football, other than that of a team that loses "big" games and lets down its fanbase with regularity. Under Coach Brown, you couldn't tell if WVU was trying to be a running team, a passing team, a spread team, an Air Raid team, a pro-style team. It seemed like every week Coach Brown was trying to throw something at the wall, hoping it would stick. That method doesn't work. Develop a system and stick with it. Recruit to it. Make it the core of your program.
12. Don't cost WVU wins over Pitt twice in three years, like your predecessor did.
Those who do not learn from mistakes are doomed to repeat them. So, please, do not repeat the blunders of Neal Brown and his overpaid and underperforming assistants. You are in a results-based business and the results of Coach Brown and his staff were embarassingly poor, which resulted in their dismissal. You are left to clean up Coach Brown's mess and return the Mountaineers to respectability. You will be given several years. Here are a few things that must be at the top of your immediate To-Do List:
1. Recruit a quarterback who is actually a threat to complete a pass.
2. No more midget quarterbacks.
3. Recruit some skill-position players who are quick-twitch athletes. WVU's best teams had quick-twitch guys, like Tavon Austin, Jock Sanders, Steve Slaton, Pat White, Amos Zereoue, etc. The teams under Coach Brown had no quick-twitch guys, which meant it was filled with guys who could not make tacklers miss and create something out of nothing, which meant no explosive plays.
4. When the son of a former WVU standout wants to play quarterback at WVU, and he's being recruited by other Power-5 programs, and is better than any quarterback you have on your roster, then offer him a scholarship and put him at the top of your recruiting board.
5. A dual-threat quarterback is always better than one-trick pony at QB.
6. Recruit -- please, please, please -- recruit size and strength. Make it a priority. WVU was laughed at by Big XII opponents for looking like a high school-sized team, not a Power-5 program. For years, our front 7 on defense was pushed around like ragdolls by Big XII teams that play grown-man football (Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma etc.) and the number of missed tackles, because our defensive players are too small and too weak -- that's the No. 1 cause of missed tackles -- was alarming. Our offensive line also failed to generate push when playing legitimate defenses, so recruit size on the OL. Remember, bigger is better.
7. Recruit a center who can make a shotgun snap without sailing it over the QB's head.
8. Do not go to the transfer portal for defensive backs from places like Duquesne, Charlotte and bad I-AA programs. The guys were at those schools because they do not have Power-5 skills. If you're going to get guys from the portal (which is a must at WVU), you get guys from Power-5 programs.
9. Hire assistant coaches who actually like -- OK, at least don't hate -- recruiting and are good at it.
10. Recruit a fullback. You can easily find a good one because most D-I teams don't utilize a fullback, so there are a bunch of good ones out there. Try putting the FB into the offense. You'd be amazed what a FB can do for your running game.
11. Don't be afraid to try something different on offense. I don't care if you want to run the triple option. At least then you would establish an identity. Coach Brown was here for six forgettable years and failed to establish an indentity for WVU football, other than that of a team that loses "big" games and lets down its fanbase with regularity. Under Coach Brown, you couldn't tell if WVU was trying to be a running team, a passing team, a spread team, an Air Raid team, a pro-style team. It seemed like every week Coach Brown was trying to throw something at the wall, hoping it would stick. That method doesn't work. Develop a system and stick with it. Recruit to it. Make it the core of your program.
12. Don't cost WVU wins over Pitt twice in three years, like your predecessor did.
