Jake Spavital and Tony Gibson could be head coaches

MORGANTOWN, WV - DECEMBER 03: The West Virginia Mountaineer mascot interacts with fans in the final moments of the West Virginia Mountaineers 24-21 win over the Baylor Bears at Mountaineer Field on December 3, 2016 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

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Two WVU football assistant coaches may not be with the Mountaineers next season. Tony Gibson and Jake Spavital won’t be fired — far from it. They just may get promoted to be head coaches elsewhere.

The Mountaineers are blessed to have two of the hottest names in college football with Tony Gibson as the WVU defensive coordinator and Jake Spavital as the offensive coordinator.

Both Tony Gibson and Jake Spavital were recently mentioned in a Sports Illustrated story naming the top 30 names to watch in coaching. Some names were current head coaches, like Phillip Montgomery of Tulsa, Jason Candle of Toledo and Scott Satterfield of the fellow Mountaineers, Appalachian State.

There were also assistant coaches at the Power 5 level who were named as possible head coaches in the near future. Rightfully so, Tony Gibson and Jake Spavital are on the short list for moving up in the ranks.

Tony Gibson checked in at No. 6 on the list of assistant coaches, while Jake Spavital was No. 10. The top assistant coach who could soon be a head coach was Joe Moorhead, the Penn State offensive coordinator.

Here is a deeper look at WVU’s great assistant coaches, Tony Gibson and Jake Spavital.

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