What Jahmile Addae's Departure Says About Neal Brown
Coaching staffs in college football never stay together for very long. Coaches are leaving to take a new job every year or are fired, let go, etc. There is always change and it doesn't just happen at West Virginia.
On Wednesday morning, co-defensive coordinator Jahmile Addae left WVU to become the defensive backs coach at Georgia. At first glance, it may seem like he is taking a step down in terms of his coaching role but the opportunity to coach in the SEC is hard to turn down, even for a former Mountaineer.
Addae was getting paid roughly $325k for his role on the West Virginia staff which is a pretty big difference from what Georgia pays its assistants. Charlton Warren, who is now the defensive coordinator at Indiana, held the defensive backs coach title at Georgia over the last two years and made $600k. Assuming the role is allotted for that amount, Addae will be nearly doubling his salary.
More importantly, this shows that Neal Brown is hiring quality coaches to come to be a part of his staff. In fact, five coaches of his original staff at WVU are no longer with the program. Four of those coaches have since moved on to other opportunities.
Al Pogue ---> Auburn
Xavier Dye ---> South Florida
Blake Seiler ---> Old Dominion
Jahmile Addae ---> Georgia
Pogue had the chance to return to the state of Alabama and coach in the SEC with some of the best defensive players in the country. Auburn head coach, Gus Malzahn, was fired this year and Pogue was not retained by new coach Bryan Harsin. He has since returned to Troy.
Xavier Dye may have taken a step down by going to South Florida to remain a wide receivers coach, but head Jeff Scott worked with him at Clemson and the two wanted to reunite.
Blake Seiler is a bright, young defensive mind that will likely end up being a head coach somewhere down the road. He now is back to calling plays at Old Dominion which should allow him to get more recognition for a head coaching opportunity.
Losing assistant coaches can be frustrating for players and even the fans but it's just a part of the business. Regardless of who leaves, Brown has proven to make quality hire after quality hire. Jahmile Addae will do great things at Georgia but I expect that West Virginia will be just fine.
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