This Week in Coaching: Neal Brown safe for now, Zach Arnett vs. LSU, Mickey Joseph's initial moves at Nebraska
As was the case last fall with Clay Helton and USC, the first domino of the 2022 coaching carousel fell just two weeks into the season, as Helton, now at Georgia Southern, ironically ended the bad marriage between Scott Frost and Nebraska.
So one major job is already open, and another Power 5 coach who also suffered a grim loss Saturday has his job security on notice.
This Week In Coaching starts with West Virginia head coach Neal Brown, who does not look in danger of being fired midseason after Mountaineers AD released a statement to the AP earlier this week, essentially taking a wait-and-see approach with Brown after WVU has started the year 0-2.
After a gutting loss in the Backyard Brawl, the Mountaineers were 13-point favorites at home against Kansas last Saturday but lost to the Jayhawks in overtime. Brown, in his fourth year in Morgantown, is now just 17-20 — with the shortened 2020-COVID season his lone winning season (6-4).
“I know and deeply care that our fans are frustrated with the start of the football season, but so are our coaches and student-athletes, who have busted their tails getting ready for the year,” Lyons told the AP.
“As athletics director, I am as disappointed as the fans, but I see how much our coaches and players care and want to win and make our fans proud.”
“Everyone involved knows that the on-field results have not met expectations and absolutely no one is satisfied. There are 10 games left in the season and the focus is still on getting the results that we all expect.”
Brown received a two-year contract extension in April of 2021 — one which Lyons might regret in hindsight.
Brown’s seat is clearly warming, but his job security has a bit of a safety net thanks to a buyout that could be too prohibitive for West Virginia. Brown would be owed an insane $20 million if he is fired anytime before Dec. 31. The figure drops to $16.7 million come the New Year.
West Virginia should record its first win Saturday in a home game against FCS Towson, but the Mountaineers are unlikely to be favored in a single Big 12 game the rest of the season. Time will tell what that means for Brown come the holidays.
“I get the frustration,” Brown said Saturday after the loss to Kansas.
“I promise you that there is no one more frustrated than me. Not that that is going to make them (the fans) feel any better, but I get their frustration.”
COORDINATOR OF THE WEEK TO WATCH
Polls don’t mean anything right now, but if they did, the Mississippi State Bulldogs would be criminally underrated.
Mike Leach’s team is 2-0 but no one has really seen them play after a 12-hour marathon rain delay in Week 1 and a near-midnight kickoff at Arizona last Saturday.
Come this weekend, more folks should be talking about the Bulldogs, particularly Zach Arnett’s defense. Mississippi State plays at LSU, where Arnett will look to frustrate Jayden Daniels with his intricate 3-3-5 scheme.
While Will Rogers has effectively run Leach’s ‘Air Raid’ offense, Arnett has the Bulldogs’ brain trust defensively for three years now. He’s quietly coached a unit that’s finished in the Top 5 in the SEC in total defense, rush defense, takeaways and first downs allowed per game in the last two years.
Arnett hails from the Rocky Long tree at San Diego State, and his defenses are known for their aggressive, attacking style.
LSU couldn’t handle pressure from Florida State in Week 1, and that could be a real problem for the Tigers going up against an Arnett defense that features a veteran linebacking unit and one of the best cornerback duos in the SEC.
Mississippi State has an SEC-high three interceptions and 13 pass breakups.
DID YOU KNOW?
That a couple sly Iowa fans used the media service Cameo to trick Bob Stoops and Hawkeyes basketball coach Frank McCaffery into trolling maligned Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz?
I’ve had some fun with Kirk Ferentz in this space, but this is next-level stuff from some surly Hawkeyes.
Stoops’ “You’ve had a tough couple of two, three years there, but the good news is your family still supports you, buddy, especially your dad; he wants you to know that,” is a fantastic quote. As was McCaffery’s line about maybe “making a move back to New England” — where Brian Ferentz was an assistant for five years in the mid-aughts.
Under Brian Ferentz, Iowa’s offensive issues have been well-documented, but they’ve seemingly hit a nadir early in 2022. The Hawkeyes rank dead last nationally — as in No. 131 — in scoring (7.0 points per game), total yards (316 in two games) and yards per play (2.8).
QUOTABLE
“It’s about Nebraska football. It’s bigger than me. I haven’t really thought about that because I’ve been a football coach – a black football coach – my whole life. I haven’t thought about that. I’m more concerned about the boys and getting the boys ready to play on Saturday. It’s bigger than me.”
— Nebraska interim head coach Mickey Joseph
When Trev Alberts fired Scott Frost and named former Cornhuskers quarterback and current wide receivers coach Mickey Joseph the team’s interim HC, Joseph became the first African American coach in any sport in school history.
Joseph has made it known that he hopes to be considered for the full-time job, so he’s already gone about putting his fingerprints on a Nebraska program that needs stability and direction.
The Cornhuskers, which host No. 6 Oklahoma this weekend, reshuffled Nebraska’s staff, splitting some responsibilities from struggling DC Erik Chinander and secondary coach Travis Fisher. Joseph promoted longtime Frost analyst Mike Cassano to fill his role as receivers coach.
Meanwhile, Joseph tweaked Nebraska’s weekly schedule, making Monday a new off day followed by two days of padded practices. Joseph noted that they’re going to tackle more in practice now, too.
“When you accept the interim job as a head coach, I think that’s an opportunity that you’ve worked for is to become the head coach,” Joseph said.
“But we understand what goes along with this profession – it’s wins and losses, and that’s what it’s going to depend on.”
Mickey Joseph will make a helluva statement in his quest to lead his alma mater full-time if Nebraska manages to rally around a week full of tumult and upset Oklahoma on Saturday.