Just like the array of new players they will be coaching this year, the West Virginia football coaching staff is brand new for the 2025-2026 season. Read more: New Staff Signals New Era for West Virginia Football
Once former head coach Neal Brown was fired, his entire coaching staff followed in their own departures.
Now, with the new season quickly approaching, new head coach Rich Rodriguez has brought his own band of coaches in hopes of changing the identity of Mountaineer football. Let’s take a look at some of those tasked with that responsibility.
Rich Rodriguez
We obviously have to start with the man at the top, head coach Rich Rodriguez. No stranger to changing the culture, Rodriguez has already shown he can dramatically change football in Morgantown.
While his coaching career has been met with ups and downs, Rodriguez is still known as one of the best offensive minds in college football. He transformed WVU’s offense in the 2000s with his innovative no-huddle, zone-read spread option offense.
That offense alone changed the landscape of college football. Now two decades later, Rodriguez is still having success with it.
Most recently, he transformed Jacksonville State into a powerhouse at the mid-major level. In 2024, he led the Gamecocks to a 9-4 record, capped off with a win in the Conference USA championship.
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Rodriguez hasn’t changed in all of his years coaching. What you see is what you get with him. Anyone who has coached alongside him or played for him has commended him for his ability to instill a winning mentality.
It’s been a long time since Rodriguez has been on the WVU sideline, but time will not change the impact he will have on the culture and identity of Mountaineer football.
Zac Alley
Rodriguez’s right-hand man will be defensive coordinator Zac Alley. Also tasked with coaching the linebackers and having the title of assistant head coach, Alley will have a crucial role in rebuilding West Virginia.
Alley, a product of Dabo Swinney, has already etched himself as one of college football’s most innovative and bright defensive minds.
Most recently, he was the co-defensive coordinator at Oklahoma. In his one season with the Sooners, Alley helped coach a top-25 defense in multiple statistical categories.
Before Oklahoma, Alley spent two seasons with Rodriguez at Jacksonville State. As the defensive coordinator, he coordinated a 33rd-ranked scoring defense (21.2). His defense played a huge role in the Gamecocks’ historic 2024 season.
Alley is known for playing a multiple-style defense. Each week, he will throw different looks at opposing offenses. He has also been open in his desire to force three turnovers a game.
With Alley commanding the defense, he will complement Rodriguez’s hard-edge style. There’s no doubt that Alley has the potential to be a head coach one day, but for now, the Mountaineers should feel lucky they have him calling the defense.
Jack Bicknell
Another new coach to West Virginia this season is offensive line coach Jack Bicknell.
Prior to West Virginia, Bicknell was the offensive line coach for Wisconsin from 2023 to 2024. He helped orchestrate one of the top rushing attacks in the Big Ten in 2023 with an average of 161 rushing yards per game.
After a successful collegiate career at Boston College, which was coached by his father, Jack, Bicknell got into coaching in 1986. Since then, he has had numerous stops in the college and professional ranks.
Bicknell has spent time as the offensive line coach for the New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins. As well as schools like Auburn, Ole Miss and Louisville.
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With almost 40 years of coaching experience, Bicknell brings a plethora of knowledge with him to West Virginia. He has had success in a number of different collegiate conferences and in the NFL.
He is another new coach who fits what Rodriguez is trying to build at WVU. His background will complement Rodriguez’s run-first approach, while his NFL experience adds a professional edge that should elevate both the staff and the players.
Gabe Franklin
Rounding out this list, we are going back to the defense with safeties coach Gabe Franklin.
Before being hired at West Virginia, Franklin had taken a four-year hiatus from collegiate coaching. After COVID-19, he and his family moved to Texas, where Franklin served as a high school teacher.
In a press conference during fall camp, Franklin talked about how that time gave him a new sense of life. He became more grounded and is now fully committed to coaching again.
Before that break, Franklin spent time at the University of California, the University of Texas at El Paso and his alma mater Boise State.
His most notable stop was Boise State, though. In his five seasons with the program, he helped lead multiple top-30 scoring defenses. As the safeties coach, he helped four Bronco safeties earn All-Mountain West honors.
As a player, Franklin had quite a successful career at Boise State. He was a three-time All-WAC honoree, including a first-team selection in 2004. By the time he left, Franklin was the NCAA all-time leader in passes defended with 72.
With a successful playing career and time as a teacher under his belt, Franklin brings a different element to the coaching staff. He now has a number of tools that he can use to not only benefit his safeties, but the defense as a whole.
He will prove to be a key contributor to the coaching staff’s effort in elevating WVU and changing the identity.
A New Era
Clearly, these are not the only coaches on WVU’s staff. Their staff is filled with a culmination of experienced coaches and former players.
Former players like Noel Devine and Pat White will be key in establishing the culture Rodriguez wants at WVU. Add in an experienced coach like Jeff Casteel, and this staff is shaping up to be a strong foundation for a new era of West Virginia football.
It may not happen overnight, or for this season, but this new coaching staff has all the tools to reshape what Mountaineer football is supposed to look like.
It may take some time, but with Rodriguez and his brand-new coaching staff leading the way, West Virginia should be entering a brighter future.
New Staff Signals New Era for West Virginia Football
