Sunday Morning Thoughts: Coaching Staff Shuffle at Year's End for WVU?

I'm not breaking any news here, but West Virginia will almost certainly see some changes in its coaching staff in the offseason. It happens pretty much every year at every school, regardless of how long the head coach has been in place, but in this instance, I do believe you'll see some performance-based decisions.

I’m not going to get into where exactly those changes may take place because I know if I do, it’ll get misinterpreted in some way, shape, or form and I’m not here to misinform. You can make assumptions as to where those changes may take place and odds are, you’re probably sniffing around in the right areas.

The reason I feel so strongly that tweaks will be made to the staff is that the header has not been all that pleased with how some things are being taught, which is something I’ve heard in addition to things he has said in his press conferences that support that. But more than anything, Rodriguez is the type of coach who isn’t going to play the waiting game. He’s loyal to his guys, but he doesn’t have patience, and he’s always the first to admit that.

After a season like this — one that likely results in 2-10 or 3-9 — patience will have run out with the coaches who failed to improve their group, find answers, and so on.

On the offensive side of the ball, there’s a ton of inexperience. Not just the players, but the staff too. That, in addition to the underperformance of particular positions, is why you see a stale offensive product.

And let me preface what I'm about to get into with I’m not suggesting in any way that these are the coaches who are in danger, so please do not take it that way. I’m simply pointing out the mere fact that Rodriguez may look to get some veteran coaches in the building to help some of these guys out or just add more experience to the offensive staff. And he should. The lack of experience is showing, given that this offense has been unable to make any strides through seven games.

QB coach Rhett Rodriguez is in just his second year of coaching, spending last season as an analyst on his dad’s staff at Jacksonville State. Inside receivers coach Logan Bradley has been in the coaching space since 2014, but largely as an analyst, as he’s in just his second year as an assistant and his first being in charge of a room. Wide receivers coach Ryan Garrett is in the same boat, having been an analyst/GA throughout much of his career before landing with Rich at Jax State. And the theme continues with tight ends coach Ryan Nysewander, who is year four as an assistant. If there's one thing Rodriguez needs to do offensively, it's to get older, even if it's bringing in some senior analysts/advisors.

Issues also exist on the defensive side as well, including the secondary, which has been picked apart since the start of Big 12 play. Linebacker play has slipped, as well as the pass rush, which showed a lot of promise at the start of the season. Changes will be made on both sides of the ball, and once again, I have no insight as to where that will be just yet, as Rodriguez isn't even sure of where that will be. He will evaluate that at the end of the year. Understanding how Rodriguez operates, he's not going to stand by idly if the poor performance continues in certain areas of the roster.

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