A leading candidate for the coaching opening at West Virginia has officially signed a new contract with his current program, likely taking him completely out of the running for the job West Virginia.
Jerrod Calhoun, who spent the last season at Utah State and led them to an NCAA Tournament appearance, has signed a new contract with the Aggies that will pay him $1.85 million per year. The news was first broken by Pete Thamel of ESPN.
Sources: Utah State has signed coach Jerrod Calhoun to a new contract, which includes a raise to $1.85 million per year starting in 2025-26. He'll get annual increases from there over the four remaining years. The deal includes additional compensation for assistant coaches. pic.twitter.com/ROepDnUk9x
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 25, 2025
Calhoun previously spent multiple years rebuilding the program at Youngstown State, taking a middling low-major program and turning them into a consistent 20-plus win per season team. Before that, he led West Virginia-based Division 2 program Fairmont State, taking them at one point to the NCAA Division 2 National Championship and finishing as national runner-up.
Calhoun also has previous experience in Morgantown as a staffer and assistant coach under Bob Huggins from 2007-2012 -- this combined resume had helped Calhoun rise as a leading candidate for the WVU job in particular
The news raises questions regarding the WVU coaching search that has officially extended for one week as of Tuesday night. First and foremost, it's clear that WVU can afford the Calhoun buyout and salary -- so why, if he was a leading candidate before, now out of the running? Were the Bob Huggins ties too strong for WVU AD Wren Baker to stomach, or is Calhoun committed to some stability for awhile in Utah? Were his defensive concerns too much of a risk? We may never know.
The next question is where does WVU go from here? If Calhoun and new Iowa coach Ben McCollum were the leading candidates within recent days and are now both out of play, where do the Mountaineers look now? Richard Pitino (New Mexico), Ross Hodge (North Texas), Steve Forbes (Wake Forest) and Alan Huss (High Point) are all rumored names at this point.
And should Calhoun not making the move raise concerns for WVU fans? It's likely it was a choice made by WVU, or maybe something both parties mutually agreed would be best. But if Calhoun decided he's rather stay at Utah State, what does that speak about where WVU is in the search? Maybe -- just maybe -- we'll find out together.