By james art 
It’s the bye week, but it’s not necessarily a quiet week for West Virginia football. Head coach Neil Brown relieved defensive coordinator Jordan Leslie of his duties, which opened up a host of questions for the team, the staff and Brown himself.
Let’s dive into this week in West Virginia on the SI mailbag.
from @wvufan2023:
Q: What do you think we will see from the basketball team on Monday and how do you see this matchup?
A: I’ll hold off on my score prediction since we’ll have it in an article on Monday, but I don’t expect them to sweat too much early in the season. Robert Morris will hang around for a while, but the Mountaineers just have too much talent.
from @Mountiealum97:
Q: If Brown is retained (which seems likely), will we also see a new OC? DC will be Koonz or someone else, but we also need a young innovative OC.
A: In this situation, when Neal comes back, he’s going to call shots offensively. He took charge when his job was in jeopardy heading into 2023, and it’s likely to be the same situation heading into 2025. When your future is in question, even in the slightest, you don’t want someone else to control what happens. While adding an offensive playmaker might be the right thing to do, I wouldn’t expect it.
from @Nothingman2021:
Q: HC drama aside and looking forward, assuming everyone stays, it looks like we have a solid group at the skill positions and Marchiol at QB with Trotter leading the D, WVU isn’t in a bad position to compete for the Big 12 the next few years. thoughts?
A: On paper, yes. However, I need to see something on the field to prove that this is the case. This team has yet to show an ounce of what a Big 12 contender looks like in six years under this regime, and until it does, it’s hard to predict that it will. They have big holes in the secondary, and the defensive line will need an overhaul with guys graduating. Should they be able to fight? yes Will they be? Unlikely.
from @rosscfh:
Q: What is the reason for Brown calling Green’s injury “upper body”? Looks suspicious, doesn’t it?
A: College coaches are really careful about giving out too much information about injured guys who aren’t out for the season. Since there’s no college rule that says you have to file an official injury report, there’s no real need to put it out there for others to know. If memory serves, I believe Brown actually called it a head injury (probably a concussion) in his postgame press conference after the loss at Kansas State, but tried to quickly push it back to an “upper body” injury.
from @AyoB_Lew:
Q: All the talk about NB being fired makes me wonder who would be the best candidate to replace him? Ps he has to go!
A: I appreciate the question, but I don’t have an answer for you at this time. If a job opens up, I’ll take it right away. In my opinion, it’s a waste of time to scan the coaching market for a job that more than likely won’t open this offseason. Plus, it would be a very imprecise list because it would be a bunch of hypotheticals. We wouldn’t know who Wren Baker and Co. would actually be targeting. right now. All these lists being released that claim to have the inside track on a “candidate” are just throwing stuff at the wall and hoping it sticks.
from @Nothingman2021:
Q: Marchiol should start by the end of the year. What are the odds? We have only lost to ranked teams, how many wins before the fans calm down?
A: At first I didn’t think it would be a possibility because Neal has been very loyal to his players and coaches over the years. With the firing of Jordan Leslie and his refusal to name Green as the starter if healthy, it changes my thinking. He acts differently with important decisions, which is what should happen when things don’t go well. So yeah, I think there’s a chance he’ll turn to Nico. As for the second part of your question, I’m not sure there will be much solace unless they win and win a bowl game, giving them an identical record to last year. Even then you will have this group of fans who will still not be satisfied.
from @YesseJesse:
Q: Assuming Brown returns next year, how will our defense need to look in the remaining games to keep Kuntz as the full-time DC next year?
A: Koonz is very well thought out in the building, so I don’t think it will take brilliant performances to make it happen. If the defense makes improvements over the last month of the season and he puts guys in position to succeed, he’ll be the guy going forward. The players accept his coaching very well and he is someone they want to spend all their energy on. Neal will look at other options as he should, but there’s a good chance Koonz will retain the title.
from @BigTimeEer:
Q: What is the case against Jimbo? I know his A&M teams sometimes fall short, but WVU is in the Big 12, not the SEC. I’m not terminating the conference, but there is a difference. Also, if he’s willing to work out for less money (reported by Couz earlier this week), that eases the burden of the buyout.
A: Jimbo has consistently fallen short of expectations with the top recruiting classes in the country. In his final three seasons at A&M, with several high-profile recruits, he went 19-15. He might want to coach again, but in West Virginia? Unlikely.
from @BucNEers:
Q: Will Jordan Leslie’s sack really matter in the second?
A: Jeff Koontz may call things differently to help those in the back end, but he can only do so much. WVU has swung and missed badly in the transfer portal and in high school recruiting. That put them in this position. They have really struggled to find quality talent and depth on this part of the roster other than Beanie Bishop.
from @RobertJ10480934:
Q: How much improvement is realistically possible with Jeff Koontz as DC? Jordan Leslie was released during the bye week, so what can really be done in such a short amount of time?
A: More than. you’re thinking, but at the same time they’re obviously not going to install a whole new security. It will be more about the messages to the players and their acceptance of that training maybe a little bit better than they did with Leslie. As mentioned above, there are some things Koonz can do to help the secondary from a playmaking standpoint.
from @wvuremfan:
Q: Do you think Neil Brown will continue to be the HC next season? What would it take to fire/retain him?
A: Barring some epic meltdown in the last month of the season, I truly believe he will be back. I don’t think there’s a clear number of wins he needs to reach to keep his job, and the same can be said for the amount of losses that will cost him his job. Well, I guess that’s not quite true. If they lose all four games, he won’t be back.
from @TAD_2002:
Q: Can Neil Brown just be fired already?!?
A: A decision won’t be made until the end of the season, and regardless of how fans feel, it’s the right thing to do. You need all the information you can before making a big decision like this. Let things play out and then assess the situation in its entirety.
from @wi_thompson:
Q: With 4 games left and with the same defensive personnel, will Kunz audition for DC or will NB take an experienced DC at the end of the year?
A: Brown will certainly look at other options, but Koonz will have a 100% chance to retain the DC title after this season.
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