Jeff Casteel Could Potentially Return to West Virginia
It's been a busy Friday around the coaching carousel as West Virginia is set to hire offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Gerad Parker from Penn State and Jeff Koonz as linebackers coach from Ole Miss.
It was believed that former West Virginia defensive coordinator, Jeff Casteel, was a candidate to replace Blake Seiler as the linebackers coach, who left for Old Dominion. Although, Neal Brown is set to hire Koonz, there appears to still be an opportunity for Casteel, a Paden City native, to return to Morgantown. Casteel has spent time at Arizona with former West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez and is currently serving as defensive coordinator at Nevada.
According to a report from Greg Hunter of MetroNews, Casteel has a fairly good shot at landing an analyst spot on Neal Brown's staff.
Casteel was a long time defensive coordinator for the Mountaineers and served on the West Virginia staff from 2001-11. He was a big part in instituting the 3-3-5 stack defense that had many years of success during West Virginia's days in the Big East. In 2003, the Mountaineers’ defense finished 4th in turnover margin, 15th in total defense in 2005, 7th in total defense in 2007 and third in total defense in 2010. Needless to say, Casteel was a huge part in the programs success under Rich Rodriguez.
Does this mean the 3-3-5 is returning? No, not even close. The defensive scheme is still in the hands of Vic Konneing and will not be allowed to actively coach. An analyst helps the assistants on staff doing side work that the full time assistants are unable to do due to their busy schedule.
What are your thoughts? Would bringing Casteel be a good idea for Neal Brown? Let us know in the comments below!
