Is Mountaineer Legend Bruce Irvin Interested in Joining the WVU Coaching Staff?

WVU does have an open spot on the coaching staff...

Sep 23, 2023; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Former West Virginia Mountaineer and current NFL player Bruce Irvin was honored during the first half as a member of the 2023 West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Once again, West Virginia is in need of a new bandits coach. The Mountaineers lost Jeff Casteel earlier this offseason to retirement, and his son, Jake, who was his assistant, accepted the head coaching position at Glenville State.

These were moves that WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez saw coming; hence the reason for hiring Larry Knight away from Arkansas State. Just two days after Knight's hire, we reported that the elder Casteel would be retiring, which Rich Rod confirmed in a press release just days later.

Unfortunately, the Mountaineers were unable to keep Knight away from returning to his home state of Georgia. Just 36 days after taking the pass rushing specialist job at West Virginia, it was announced that he would be the next outside linebackers coach at the University of Georgia.

So, where will Rich Rod and defensive coordinator Zac Alley turn now? Promoting from within seems unlikely, considering they don't have an ideal candidate already in the building.

How about adding another Mountaineer legend in Bruce Irvin?

One fan on X asked Irvin his thoughts about joining the staff to fill the void left behind by Knight, and he gave an interesting reply.

🤨🤔 https://t.co/Uw6cq6qNl0

— Bruce Irvin (@BIrvin_WVU11) February 18, 2026

As cool as it would be to see Irvin being the lead guy of a position group, it's unlikely to happen.

Rodriguez's only tie to Irvin is Jeff Casteel, who was his defensive coordinator when he played for the Mountaineers. I'm sure he could call him up and get some intel, but at the end of the day, WVU needs an experienced voice looking over a room. Pat White and Noel Devine, who each played for Rodriguez and did so at an extremely high level, are on staff but are in entry-level roles.

If Irvin were to join the Mountaineers' staff, it's reasonable to think that it would be in a similar capacity to that of White and Devine. In the meantime, you can start browsing through all of Zac Alley's history and try to connect the dots. At the end of the day, the defensive hires are his call.

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