West Virginia’s ideal replacement for Neil Brown would be far from Jimbo Fisher – FanSided

Jimbo Fisher may be from West Virginia, but he’s not the right guy to lead the West Virginia Mountaineers if Neil Brown falters. Honestly, it’s a bit of a shock that Brown is still at WVU. I thought he was gone after the 2022 college football season. With Shane Lyons out, I suspected Ren Baker would be looking for a head coach better equipped to win big in the Big 12.

Then it happened last year. Brown has WVU playing pretty well, enough to make me think the Eers will be a force to be reckoned with in league play this year. This is not the case. West Virginia is 4-4 on the season and hasn’t taken advantage of the lack of power at the top of the league after Oklahoma and Texas left for the SEC. West Virginia has too much history to be a memory.

I still haven’t put this in writing until now. I’m afraid the Browns’ 2023 season was essentially Dino Babers’ dead cat bounce. Just when you thought Syracuse was done with their underperforming head coach, the Orange would go on a 10-game winning streak. This will happen every few years, thus perpetuating the cycle. Brown won a lot at Troy because everyone but Jared Parker won a lot at Troy.

If I were to move on from Brown after this season, I would look at a coach with College Station ties. However, I’d rather let Fisher live off his Gig Em purchase money as the snake oil salesman that he is.

When West Virginia was at its peak as a program under Rich Rodriguez some 20 years ago, the Mountaineers ran a high-octane, pitch-oriented offense. As fate would have it, Texas A&M manages just that under former Kansas State superstar quarterback Collin Klein. The longtime Heisman Trophy finalist is now in his mid-30s and has become one of the game’s elite contributors.

The thing I like most about Klein as an offensive mind is how adaptable he is. Texas A&M is on fire after winning its last seven games after losing Week 1 at home to fellow College Football Playoff contender Notre Dame. Klein hasn’t always had a healthy or even reliable Connor Weigman at quarterback. Regardless, he was able to make big gains with Marcel Reed replacing him and then taking over.

Considering Klein grew up in Colorado, played at Kansas and worked at Texas, it’s safe to say he’ll be able to recruit the type of players to win at a place like West Virginia. College football fans remember Klein as one of the most electrifying dual-threat quarterbacks of his generation. He’s mature beyond his years and won’t handle himself like Fisher probably would if he took over.

Overall, Klein checks all the boxes for a future head coach that you would want to lead your team moving from the coordinator position. Ripe, bright, young, sharp and close. He has worked for three elite coaches in the profession in the iconic Bill Snyder and Chris Kleeman at his alma mater K-State, as well as one of the best new head coaches in the Power Four in Mike Elko.

It might not be that simple, but Klein is the perfect head coach to take over at a program like West Virginia.