West Virginia set to hire two for defensive coaching staff

January 9, 2013 12:25 pm

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Former West Virginia assistant Tony Gibson has been offered a position on team's defensive staff along with former East Carolina defensive coordinator Brian Mitchell.

Both Gibson and Mitchell are currently going through the university's vetting process according to a Post-Gazette source.

If cleared, an official announcement is not likely for several days. It is unclear exactly which titles the two will have if they are approved.

Gibson is a West Virginia native and worked with the Mountaineers during Rich Rodriguez's stint as a head coach from 2001-2007.

He spent the last season on Rodriguez's staff at Arizona as safeties/defensive special teams coach.

Gibson is also connected to current defensive coordinator Keith Patterson. The two worked together for a season at Pitt during Todd Graham's brief stint coaching the Panthers.

Mitchell was fired by ECU on Thursday and was the defensive coordinator and coached the safeties.

Two positions opened on Dana Holgorsen's within the last month. He fired cornerbacks coach Daron Roberts at the end of the regular season, then let longtime assistant Steve Dunlap go on Saturday. Dunlap handled outside linebackers and special teams.

West Virginia had one of the worst defenses in program history, and was ranked last in I-A college football for most of the season against the pass.


First Published January 9, 2013 12:25 pm

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