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Poll: Does Firing Jordan Lesley Change Your Opinion of Neal Brown?

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WVU head coach Neal Brown after beating UNC in the Duke's Mayo Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. on Dec. 27, 2023. (Mitchell Northam / WV Sports Now)
Mitchell Northam / WV Sports Now

The WVU fanbase is about as fed up as they’ve ever been based on West Virginia’s roller coaster ride of a 2024 season. But on Tuesday, something fans have been calling for happened – defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley was fired. While that one move is not enough by itself to galvanize everyone again or fix the problems, it does bring up an interesting question for Mountaineer Nation.

Now that Lesley has been removed, could that move help sell you on retaining Neal Brown as head coach? The question is basically asking if the decision to move on from Lesley could help you feel better about another season with Brown leading the Mountaineers?

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.

  • It was 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.

Clearing Up Any Confusion About WVU Football Firing Jordan Lesley

The Mountaineers are currently on their second bye week of the season and will return to action to begin a favorable four-game stretch at Cincinnati on Nov. 9.

Stay with WV Sports Now for more on this developing story and our coverage of the WVU football program.

For a related story, WVU director of athletics Wren Baker sent a message to fans to address the football disappointment and update the fall sports calendar.

5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. Randall Lowe

    October 30, 2024 at 11:09 am

    It has been long overdue. If I can see what is wrong with the defense and the man getting paid does not then there is a problem. May be pay me instead. Give me the job. They would not hire me of coarse because I would turn this program around and would not listen to all those egg head excuses why they can’t do this or that. That is why Rich Rod left. Those morons that claim to be smart people but are really just narcissist idiots. But any ways at least that made one move to empty out the poisen. There are other areas that need improvement. The strength and conditioning program is anything but that. I see WVU players getting man handled out there. I see hands on hips tired players all ready huffing and puffing after one possession. The strength and conditioning program needs to be rebuilt as well. But what do I know?

  2. jackson five

    October 30, 2024 at 11:13 am

    brown might not have been told to fire him but i bet he felt the heat, between loyalty to wvu and the program vs loyalty to his buddy coaches, and winning,,,this won’t change things, the defensive secondary will still be terrible, someone recruited the wrong people ,, seems poor evaluation of possible signees.. by someone,, the secondary shouldn’t even be playing in the div 2, much less power 4 football,, but things won’t change until an outside person is hired as the DC, and brown won’t let that happen…I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT DUNLAP SHOULD BE BROUGHT IN AS THE DC FOR THE REST OF THIS SEASON, AND GIVEN THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE BE DECISIONS,, AND THEN IN THE OFF SEASON, BAKER AND BROWN NEED TO FIND A NEW DC..BUT I TOTALLY BELIEVE, DUNLAP WOULD STRAIGHTEN OUT BOTH BROWN, AND BAKER, AND HOW TO RUN A FOOTBALL TEAM TO WIN, AND FORGET THE BUDDY COACH, CONCEPT..

  3. k

    October 30, 2024 at 8:25 pm

    doesn’t change my opinion….Brown should have never been given a 5 yr extension….1 maybe 2 yr, but not 5…maybe Baker needs to go also

  4. Mike Asti

    October 30, 2024 at 8:32 pm

    Brown was given a four-year extension and he took less in salary and reduced buyout.

  5. Fred Zara

    October 31, 2024 at 5:28 pm

    Six years is long enough to prove yourself as a head coach ! A losing record on the big 12 and afainst DI teams shows me he’s not the coach we thought we were getting ! Time to move on ……

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