The search is on for West Virginia’s next head coach after Mountaineers’ athletic director Wren Baker made the decision to fire Neal Brown following a 52-15 loss to Texas Tech.
Brown served as the Mountaineers’ head coach from 2019 to 2024, putting together a 37-35 overall record and leading WVU to four bowl appearances in six seasons.
After getting to six wins in 2024, it appeared that Brown might be able to survive the season with another bowl victory. However, Baker explains that the 52-15 loss to Texas Tech was just too much for the program to stomach.
“Saturday night into Sunday,” Baker said when asked when he decided to fire Brown. ” I know that there are people that will say that I had to know before then, but I think it’s important that you keep your mind open and let every data point arrive.”
Baker also commented on a timeline for the coaching search, saying that there are candidates that still have games left on the schedule, which he wants to respect.
“There is no set timeline for the search,” Baker said. “There are candidates that are still playing in the Conference Championships and I want to respect that. It is important that we have a leader and not just a coach. We are going to hire someone with integrity. That is a nonnegotiable.”
One of those candidates might just be a former WVU quarterback, as Penn State assistant head coach and co-offensive coordinator Ja’Juan Seider is a name to watch, according to a report from Bruce Feldman of The Athletic.
“A former West Virginia quarterback who got his start in college coaching at WVU before returning there as the running backs coach on Dana Holgorsen’s staff for four seasons, Seider is a well-regarded coach with deep ties around Florida, which has frequently been a key recruiting area for the program. Players really respond to him, and Seider knows from all his time in Morgantown what really works for the Mountaineers. He also has some former players and money people pushing for him to get in the mix.”
After his playing days in Morgantown (1995-98) were over, Seider returned to WVU as a grad assistant in 2008-09. Then, after a three-year stint at Marshall, he returned to the Mountaineers staff as Dana Holgorsen’s running backs coach from 2013-16.
Seider has been at Penn State since 2018 as the Nittany Lions’ running backs coach, adding AHC and Co-OC to his title since then.
No. 4 Penn State (11-1) is set to face No. 1 Oregon (12-0) in the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday, December 7 at 7:00 p.m. CT (CBS).
