West Virginia Coaching Hot Board 1.0: Candidates For The WVU Head Coaching Vacancy

With now-former West Virginia football head coach Neal Brown on the way out of Morgantown, the storied Mountaineers program will soon have a new leader at the helm.

Let's take an early look at the most legitimate candidates for the head coaching vacancy at WVU -- here is the first version of HailWV's Coaching Hot Board.

Jimbo Fisher

Number one on the list would have to be former Texas A&M and Florida State coach and Clarksburg native Jimbo Fisher, correct? Possibly. But we can pump the breaks on that one a bit. Given that he has ties and is from here, this one is not in the cards. Although he has a National Championship resume, I don't think he wants to dedicate five or more years to rebuilding to bring Morgantown one natty. National reporter Ross Dellenger also seems to believe Fisher will not be coming to Morgantown.

Nick Saban

This former national championship-winning Alabama head coach and Marion County native is a pipe dream at best. Why would we not want a Saban to come to Morgantown with his many national championships? Well, WVU would likely want it, but Saban is perfectly content with where he is and is having a blast doing it. He feels that all of the NIL drama would take a toll on him mentally, and honestly, he doesn't have the time or patience to deal with it. You could say the same for Bill Belichick. If he returns to coaching, it will not be at the NCAA level.

Barry Odom

Odom is a mixed bag in terms of history as a head coach. When he had the head job at his alma mater Missouri, he managed just a 25-25 record. But since then, has done an amazing job turning around the UNLV Rebels. Since taking that gig, the Rebels are 19-7 overall at a place that hadn’t won more than eight games in a season in 40 years -- they're 10-2 this season with a shot at a Mountain West Conference title and potential playoff bid this weekend. He also has previous ties with Wren Baker as they shared time in the athletic department at Missouri.

Andy Kotelnicki

It is only a matter of time before Kotelnicki becomes a head coach. Is it possible WVU brings him in to ignite the offense? Kotelnicki has a nose for putting up points in Happy Valley, but can it translate to Morgantown? There are also concerns about the type of defense Kotelnicki may bring as a career offensive coordinator

Tony Gibson

One of the most respected defensive coordinators in the country, the current North Carolina State DC has ties to the program -- he's a West Virginia native, and was the defensive backs coach at WVU during Rich Rodriguez's tenure before returning for another six seasons from 2013 to 2018 as defensive coordinator under Dana Holgorsen. He demands a lot from his players and garners respect from them. Someone like him may be the best fit. I believe that WVU needs an intimidating figure to get the most out of Its athletes. Gibson was the defensive backs coach at WVU during Rodriguez's tenure, and he returned for another six seasons from 2013 to 2018 as defensive coordinator.

Rich Rodriguez

The fanbase is split on this one, and if I had to dig into the numbers, I would estimate that it appears that the percentage of fans who would take him back sits at around 60%. His name has been thrown around quite a bit due to WVU having arguably its best run ever with him at the helm from 2001-2007, is his newfound success with Jacksonville St. Due to his controversial past, you might not want to hold your breath on this one, though.