Morgantown, West Virginia – With the likelihood of Neal Brown being fired increasing every day, the question of who will replace him as the head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers is very natural to consider.
We recently reached out to Pat White, the legendary former quarterback for the Mountaineer and current assistant coach for the Los Angeles Chargers in the NFL, to ask who he thinks would be a great replacement for Brown. White gave us the five possibilities:
Chris Beatty – Beatty, 49, is the wide receivers coach for the Chargers alongside White and is a former assistant coach at Pitt, Maryland, Virginia, Wisconsin, Illinois, Vanderbilt and was the running backs/slot receivers coach for the West Virginia Mountaineers from 2008-2010.
When asked why he would pick Beatty to replace Brown, White said the following: “A native of 757 (area code 757 is located in eastern Virginia and covers Chesapeake, Newport News, Portsmouth and Suffolk) that will recruit the best of the best and empower all the rest that want to be a part of magical Morgantown. You would be hard-pressed to find a player that has anything but positive feedback from interactions with Chris Beatty and he should be at the top of any list.”
Pat White – Yes, Pat White himself! White, now 36, is widely considered the greatest player in West Virginia football history. Since leaving Morgantown, he’s been an assistant coach at Alcorn State, South Florida, Alabama State and now for the Los Angeles Chargers. White is one of the most respected, admired former players in the state of West Virginia.
Tony Gibson – Now at NC State, Gibson was the defensive coordinator for the Mountaineers from 2014 to 2018. He put together some solid defenses at WVU with his unique 3-3-5 stack. His most notable coaching job came in 2015 when his defense put together two shutouts in 13 games (44-0 vs. Georgia Southern, 49-0 at Kansas).
He has now carried that success over to NC State, being named a Broyle’s Award nominee for the 2022 season as a top assistant in the nation. Gibson is a terrific recruiter, was born in the state of West Virginia and understands WVU football as well as anyone available.
Rod Smith – West Virginia native who is a longtime assistant at several stops, Smith is now the offensive coordinator for Rich Rodriguez at Jacksonville State.
Jahmile Addae – Addae, a four year starter at West Virginia at defensive back, a two-time captain of the Mountaineers and two-time All Big East selection and former NFL player, was the co-defensive coordinator for West Virginia before leaving to become an assistant at Georgia. Addae is now the secondary coach at Miami.
Addae was rated as the 2nd best recruiter in the entire nation for the 2022 class, has incredible rapport with players and would be a home run hire for West Virginia.
Pat White tells me that Chris Beatty, Pat White, Tony Gibson, Rod Smith and Jahmile Addae are coaches that would be great for any program but especially great at #WVU.
— The Voice of Morgantown (@voicemorgantown) November 21, 2022
