Morgantown, West Virginia – West Virginia University officials have already started to look towards the future of the football program, according to a source close to the situation.
No one at the university wants to fire Neal Brown. No one. He is genuinely liked by virtually everyone at West Virginia and they really wanted to see him succeed as the head coach of the Mountaineers.
However, donors for the university have put pressure on West Virginia’s athletic director, Shane Lyons, to make a change and he could be in hot water if he doesn’t comply. Major donors threatening to not honor their future financial commitments could cost West Virginia millions of more dollars in addition to the millions and millions of dollars that Lyons has cost the university from his contract extension that he gave Brown following the 2021 football season.
With that said, Lyons has to take action. The Voice of Motown has heard from multiple sources that West Virginia University has been in contact with a “handful of head coaches” about the position.
Names that were mentioned were Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze, who has reportedly reach out through his representatives to express interest if the job becomes available, former Baylor and Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule, who the university is said to have reached out to, Dave Clawson, the current head coach at Wake Forest and the 2021 ACC Coach of the Year, and Dino Babers, the current head coach at Syracuse.
What is becoming very clear is that West Virginia wants a proven, successful head coach who could immediately come to Morgantown and turn the football program around. Shane Lyons can’t take a risk on an unproven coach at the Power 5 level like he did with Neal Brown and have it not work out, so he wants to find the surest possible answer to the problems that the football program is currently in.
Shane Lyons knows that his future depends on making the right choice and that he can’t afford to miss on the hiring of the next head coach of the Mountaineers.
