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West Virginia parts ways with defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley | News, sports, jobs

West Virginia parts ways with defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley | News, sports, jobs

MORGANTOWN – West Virginia University football coach Neal Brown has said many times this season that he and his staff must continue to find solutions to a perennially struggling defense. One solution came Tuesday morning with Brown’s announcement that WVU and defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley had parted ways and that linebackers coach/special teams coordinator Jeff Koonz will become defensive coordinator for the rest of the season.

Lesley was nominated in both 2020 and 2021 for the Broyles Award, given annually to college football’s top assistant coach. Still, the Mountaineer defense was one of the worst in the country in several categories this season, and Brown decided a change was needed.

“I met with Coach Lesley this morning and informed him that we are making a change at the defensive coordinator position,” he said. Brown said in a statement Tuesday morning. “I am very grateful for the investment Jordan and his family have made in West Virginia football. Jordan has been an important part of my staff for almost a decade. He is a good football coach and a great person. I know he will have great success in the future, and we will do everything we can to help him on that journey.”

Lesley came to WVU with Brown from Troy University in 2019, where he first served as defensive line coach, then co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach in 2020 and as defensive coordinator since 2021. In 2021, WVU ranked fifth nationally in red zone defense, 18th in fewest defensive first downs allowed and fourth down percentage, 29th in third down defense and 37th in total defense (350.1).

Still, the Mountaineers didn’t come anywhere close to those numbers this year. WVU entered the bye week tied for 95th in scoring defense (28.4 points per game), 84th in total defense (382.5 yards allowed per game), 114th in passing yards allowed (261 per game ), 117th in opponent fourth-down conversions, 124th in opponent third-down conversions and 127th in opponent passer rating (161.99).

Defensive mistakes and failures have directly contributed to the losses this season. WVU blew a 10-point lead in the final five minutes of the loss to Pittsburgh, giving up touchdown drives of 75 and 77 yards, respectively. Against Iowa State, a 7-0 WVU lead turned into a 14-7 deficit after a failed pass coverage allowed Jaylin Noel to grab a pass from Rocco Becht and run untouched for a 60-yard score, giving the Cyclones a 17- stop play. touchdown drive on which they converted three third downs. Against Kansas State, WVU had quarterback Avery Johnson finish with a career-high 298 passing yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Even in wins, the defense has shown its warts, as in last Saturday’s win over Arizona. The Mountaineers led 31-13 with 13:31 left in the game, but the Wildcats cut the lead to 31-26 after a pair of touchdown drives, boosted by long completions up the middle against even coverage.

The Mountaineers ran a two-deep zone, called a “Tampa Two.” In that formation, the middle linebacker’s job is to defend the middle of the field. Twice that pitted linebacker Trey Lathan against All-American wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan. The first time led to a 34-yard touchdown pass from Noah Fifita to McMillan. On the next drive, McMillan caught a 49-yard pass from McMillan to the WVU 6. Fifita ended that drive with a three-yard touchdown run.

‘It’s not a good defense’ Brown said Monday. “You might get stuck sometime, you know. …but we should never have put him in that position again. And that’s really not Trey’s fault.

“What happens, and I’m not defending anything, but what happens is when you struggle, you try to find answers,” he added. “And the answer wasn’t very good.”

The search for answers hasn’t been easy for WVU this season. Each new attempt at a solution may have worked temporarily, but other problems have arisen as well. Brown used the cover-two defense as an example. It worked well against Oklahoma State and was effective against Iowa State, but Arizona was able to solve it.

“If things don’t go well, you keep changing what you do,” he said. “But if you do that, other teams also have good coaches. So you gloss over one aspect, but coaches find out about it and you’re exposed to the other.

Koonz came to WVU in 2020 after coaching linebackers at Ole Miss. He has one year of experience as a co-defensive coordinator, with Cincinnati in 2016. He has also been WVU’s special teams coordinator since 2020, and that has been one of the Mountaineers’ strengths.

“These decisions are never easy, but I am confident this change is in the best interest of our program and puts us in the best position to finish strong.” Brown said in his statement Tuesday. “Our players have a great opportunity in front of them, and I know they will give their all for WVU. Jeff Koonz will serve as defensive coordinator. I know he and all of our employees will do everything they can to help us succeed.”