Joe Wickline joins WVU football as offensive coordinator
The news had been floating out there this week, but on Thursday, Dana Holgorsen made it official.
The West Virginia head coach announced that Joe Wickline would be joining the WVU football program as offensive coordinator.
"“Joe brings a wealth of experience, and his resume speaks volumes of his ability to build top offensive lines, as well as being a prominent voice in developing offensive units,” Holgorsen said. “We were on staff together at Oklahoma State in 2010, and he brings an excellent familiarity of the Big 12 Conference. I am excited to add him to our staff and welcome him and his family to West Virginia University.”"
Wickline spent the past two seasons as a co-offensive coordinator at Texas, but he was released by the Longhorns last month.
According to the official release by the Mountaineers, Wickline has 34 years of college coaching experience. He coached several All-Americans as his alma mater of Florida, and led Middle Tennessee State to a Top 25 finish in several offensive categories.
When he was at OSU with Holgorsen, Wickline’s tenure was cloudy. He did help the Cowboys to a Big 12 title in 2011 and Top 20 finishes in several offensive categories in his five years there.
But, upon moving to Texas, the Cowboys were left troubled by Wickline’s departure. Not by the leaving on his own accord, but how he fulfilled his role with Oklahoma State.
Wickline was sued by OSU in 2014, alleging he misled the school about his new role with the Longhorns. The lawsuit dealt with whether or not Wickline was directly involved in the play-calling with Texas.
That could be a similar issue with the Mountaineers.
There are no bones about it, this is Holgorsen’s offense. He has worked directly with quarterbacks and served as the offensive coordinator in his five seasons with the Mountaineers.
The 2015 season was one in which Holgorsen had to adjust the offense from his protypical “air raid” style to a more run-first attack.
A head coach already has enough on his plate as the czar of the program. If Holgorsen uses Wickline’s experience and education within college coaching as an aid to enhance the offense even more, this will be a great move for WVU football.