MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Joe DeForest, the scapegoat coordinator of West Virginia’s porous 2012 defense before spending the past three seasons coaching safeties and special-teams, won’t have his contract renewed.
Damon Cogdell’s two-year stint as co-defensive line coach also is finished, sources confirmed. Both contracts expire Jan. 30.
Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson has targeted two candidates to replace DeForest as safeties coach—one of them a Power 5 assistant and the other an up-and-coming staffer at an FCS program.
Cogdell’s spot will be filled on the offensive side, sources said, rectifying an imbalance that occurred when head coach Dana Holgorsen chose not to hire an offensive coordinator in 2015.
Multiple reports cited Holgorsen as targeting recently dismissed Texas offensive coordinator Joe Wickline for WVU’s coordinator post. A source told MetroNews Sunday night no agreement had been reached with Wickline, who was Oklahoma State’s offensive line coach for a nine-year stint that included 2010 when Holgorsen served as the Cowboys’ play-caller.
DeForest’s 2012 defense was a mess, with freshmen and multiple first-year contributors pressed into action as West Virginia transitioned into the Big 12. The unit ranked 108th in total defense (472.4 yards), 114th in scoring (38 points), 119th in pass-efficiency defense and 75th in sacks.
Before that season’s Pinstripe Bowl loss to Syracuse, Holgorsen promoted linebackers coach Keith Patterson to coordinator but continued to support DeForest’s contributions over the following three years.
As safeties coach, DeForest oversaw the development of Karl Joseph, K.J. Dillon and Dravon Askew-Henry.
His special-teams units had spectacular moments—Josh Lambert became a Lou Groza finalist in 2014, the kick-return unit rode Mario Alford’s exploits to a No. 8 national ranking, and Nick O’Toole earned All-Big 12 honors in 2015. But they also endured spectacular failures—the inability to find a sure-handed punt returner in 2014 and this year’s kick-coverage unit ranked 109th, low-lighted by allowing a game-changing touchdown at Kansas State.
DeForest earned $375,000 this year and Cogdell—working his first college job after serving as head coach at Miramar (Fla.) High School—was being paid $200,000.