MORGANTOWN — West Virginia University football coach Neal Brown has said often this season that he and his staff must continue looking for solutions to its perennially struggling defense. One solution came Tuesday morning with Brown’s announcement that WVU and defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley had parted ways and linebackers coach/special teams coordinator Jeff Koonz will become defensive coordinator for the rest of the season.
Lesley had been a nominee in both 2020 and 2021 for the Broyles Award, given annually to college football’s top assistant coach. Yet the Mountaineer defense had been one of the country’s worst in several categories this season, and Brown decided a change needed made.
“I met with Coach Lesley this morning and informed him that we are making a change at the defensive coordinator position,” Brown said in a statement released Tuesday morning. “I’m very thankful for the investment Jordan and his family have made in West Virginia football. Jordan has been a key part of my staff for almost a decade. He is a good football coach and a great man. I know he will have much success moving forward, and we will do everything we can to help him on that journey.”
Lesley came to WVU with Brown from Troy University in 2019, serving first as defensive line coach, then co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach in 2020 and as defensive coordinator since 2021. In 2021, WVU finished fifth nationally in red zone defense, 18th in fewest defensive first downs allowed and in fourth-down percentage, 29th in third-down defense and 37th in total defense (350.1).
Yet the Mountaineers were nowhere near those numbers this year. WVU entered the bye week ranked tied 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 opponents’ fourth down conversions, 124th in opponents’ third-down conversions and 127th in opponents’ passer rating (161.99).
Defensive miscues and breakdowns have directly contributed to losses this season. WVU blew a 10-point lead in the last five minutes of its 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 blown pass coverage allowed Jaylin Noel to grab a Rocco Becht pass and run untouched for a 60-yard score, then the Cyclones ripped off a 17-play touchdown drive on which they converted three third downs. Against Kansas State, WVU allowed quarterback Avery Johnson to 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 on a pair of touchdown drives boosted by long completions down the middle against the same coverage.
The Mountaineers were running 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 put 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 good defense,” Brown said Monday. “Maybe once, you know, you get stuck. … but we should have never put him in that position again. And that’s really not Trey’s fault.
“What happens, and not defending anything, but what happens is when you’re struggling, you’re trying to find answers,” he added. “And the answer there 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. 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.
“When things aren’t going well, you continue to change up what you’re doing,” he said. “But when you do that, other teams have good coaches, too. So you’re covering up one aspect, but coaches figure that out and you get exposed on the other.”
Koonz came to WVU in 2020 after coaching linebackers at Ole Miss. He has a year’s experience as a co-defensive coordinator, at Cincinnati in 2016. He also has been WVU’s special teams coordinator since 2020, and that has been one of the Mountaineers’ strengths.
“These decisions are never easy, but I’m 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 Tuesday statement. “Our players have a tremendous opportunity in front of them, and I know they will give their all for WVU. Jeff Koonz will step up and serve as the defensive coordinator moving forward. I know he and our entire staff will do everything they can to help us succeed.”
— Story by Derek Redd
