National Analyst Argues Firing Jordan Lesley Signals WVU Retaining Neal Brown

To WVU fans hoping removing Jordan Lesley is just the beginning of the end for Neal Brown and his staff, a national analyst says not so fast.

CBS Sports college football analysts Bud Elliott explained why he believes West Virginia unloading Lesley actually means they are going to retain Brown.

“I think it’s possible the Mountaineer job could open, but I don’t think it’s probable,” said Elliott on the Cover 3 Podcast. “Generally, if you’re firing coordinators now, you’re probably doing so with the eye towards figuring out if a different guy on staff is better to run it, or if you need to go out of house.”

Elliott then expanded on his hypothesis further, even connecting the present day situation at WVU to what was done early on in Brown’s tenure.

“There’s either a real problem you have to get rid of, or you want to be able to audition someone else on staff, to see how they call it. So maybe that’s what Neal Brown wants to do,” explained Elliott.

He even feels it’s possible the Lesley dismissal was done simply to appease frustrated donors before informing them they will be stuck with at least another year of Brown leading the Mountaineers.

“It also, like — sometimes, it just quenches boosters’ thirst for blood,” he added.

“It might show, I know I need to make changes, I know I can’t just run this back. We talk often times about, changing coaches — smart AD’s know, like to save their own skin, sometimes they got to change coaches, because that’s how boosters get fired up again.”

As expected, the firing of Lesley sparked a strong reaction from WVU fans. And even though Brown released a statement about the decision, we at WV Sports Now wanted to offer what we know about the situation in an effort to clear up any confusion.

Clearing Up Any Confusion About WVU Football Firing Jordan Lesley

• It was Neal Brown’s decision to part ways with Lesley
• Brown previously fought to keep Lesley and the defensive staff intact after West Virginia endured a rough 2022 season.
• The decision to fire Lesley was in the works for multiple weeks and the bye week was viewed as the right time if things did not improve defensively. That means the defense had to perform no matter if the Mountaineers won as a team.
• WVU director of athletics Wren Baker and Brown talk frequently and any reports that Brown was forced to do this by Baker are false.
• The decision to promote Jeff Koonz instead of ShaDon Brown likely signals the writing being on the wall for (ShaDon) Brown.
• The expectation is no decision about (Neal) Brown’s future will take place until the end of the season.
• The expectation is also that (Neal) Brown will remain on as head coach barring a collapse in the final four games.

Jeff Koonz has been appointed the defensive coordinator to take over for Lesley for the rest of the season.

WV Sports Now offers a re-introduction of Koonz for any fans who need a refresher.

Re-Introducing Jeff Koonz to WVU Fans as He Takes Over as DC

For a related story, WV Sports Now polled WVU fans, asking them if the firing of Jordan Lesley changes their opinion of Neal Brown.