MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Two days after announcing that Neal Brown would not continue for a seventh season as WVU’s head football coach, Director of Athletics Wren Baker stepped up to the microphone inside the Team Room at the Milan Puskar Center to outline the parameters for his first football head coaching search at West Virginia.
Baker was understandably guarded when talking about a timeline for a decision. However, he acknowledges that retaining current players, verbal commitments and searching for potential acquisitions from the transfer portal is contingent on how quickly a final call is made.
“I understand that the quicker we can get this search done, the better position we put the new staff in. However, you can’t misfire and get it wrong because you were rushing. We’re going to take the time that it takes. That’s what we did in men’s basketball. We got that done very efficiently,” Baker said.
“You want to retain as much talent as we can. We’ve got some great players and some great human beings in the locker room that I would love to stay here. We’ve got people that are from the area and that want to be here.”
Since being hired as WVU’s Director of Athletics two years ago, Baker has hired sitting head coaches for vacancies in men’s basketball [Darian DeVries], women’s basketball [Mark Kellogg] and volleyball [Jen Greeny]. That doesn’t necessarily preclude Baker from considering assistant coaches or coordinators.
“When you are looking at people who are coordinators now, if they have been at multiple stops, has there been a clear progression each step of the way? Obviously that interview process is a little different for them because maybe they have been focused on one side of the ball. So you are going to want to know philosophically what they envision and maybe even get into potential candidates they may have.
“For me, data and analytics are very important. They are not the only thing that is important. But I do think it is a way to make sure you are not getting into making decisions just off emotions.”
With the advent of the transfer portal and NIL and anticipated revenue sharing working its way into college football, Baker says having a head coach that can navigate the new realities of the game in addition to the X’s and O’s is an ideal mix.
“From my perspective, you can’t get just somebody that knows schematics in football. Understanding ‘capology’ is important. That’s a big part of this job. Having a plan for how you are going to staff those talent evaluators and how you are going to staff the economic folks that are helping you make a decision on how much you are going to spend on a position group and how much to spend on a player in that position group, all of those numbers are connected.”
Additionally, Baker would like to find a candidate that will not shy away from the very large spotlight placed upon them in a state without a major professional sports franchise.
“You have to find people, and there are great coaches who aren’t capable of this, who are comfortable living in a fishbowl. If you are the football coach at West Virginia University, you are the most recognizable person in this state. Think about that. You are never going to stop getting gas, you’re never going to walk into a convenience store, you are never going to go into the grocery store and buy anything where people don’t know who you are. You can feel the eyes following you. For some people, they can handle the pressure on game days, they can’t handle that you can’t ever get away from it.”
When final approval is reached for revenue sharing in college football, Baker says that West Virginia is in position to compete near the maximum funding levels.
“We do expect to be at or near the full participation in rev share. Once we determine that football number, there’s a substantial amount of rev share. That’s a big part of the job now. It wasn’t a few years ago. But understanding how to use what is in essence some kind of salary cap, is a really important part of what you want.
“If your funding is in the bottom third and your expectations are in the top third, that becomes really tough. One of the things we are making sure that we do, particularly when it comes to rev share, is that we are going to be in that top third.”
Baker says he has spoken several times with Brown since relieving him of his duties on Sunday.
“I’ve got so much respect for him. The class and integrity he showed, if I was to script out how you would want a couple hard days to go, I couldn’t have scripted him to be any better and any classier than he has been.”
— Neal Brown (@NealBrown_WVU) December 3, 2024
Baker asked Brown for his recommendation on which assistant coach would be best to lead the program on an interim basis. Offensive Coordinator Chad Scott will lead the Mountaineers into their bowl game.
“He thought Coach Scott would be great. And we have [Head Coach for Football Strength and Conditioning] Mike Joseph. So we told Coach Scott just to focus on the football stuff. We want to simplify this. Mike Joseph, who has been here a long time and is very highly-regarded and respected, we have him kind of on the non-football stuff. I got a text from him as I was walking in letting me know who was here today for weights and how things are going academically.
“Those of you that have had a chance to be around Coach Scott know that he has an infectious enthusiasm about him. I think he is particularly suited for this role when you have young people that have a tough thing that happens to them and they have to rebound and get ready for a bowl game. He very quickly has rallied those guys. And the staff has been tremendous.”
If you want any chance at retaining the current players with a head coaching change, coach Mike HAS to stay
— Bryce Ford-Wheaton (@Brycewheat3) December 2, 2024
The rest of the coaching staff will remain to lead the Mountaineers through the end of the semester and through the bowl game. A bowl announcement is expected on Sunday.
“We are hoping we can play in an earlier bowl game because I think our kids are pretty excited to stay together and play in a bowl game. Obviously if it is a late game, the portal becomes a bigger factor.
“My ask of our staff was to do what it right for our program and our kids as long as you are an employee here. And I will do right by you. I was very honest about that and they have been very honest about that. I think we are going to have a good Signing Day tomorrow. That took a bunch of people reaching out to their kids and their families and assuring them that this program is in a good place and that we are all working together.”
The opening day of the three-day early signing window is Wednesday. The transfer portal window opens next week.