MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Jeff Casteel, who was a member of the West Virginia coaching staff from 2001-11, is returning to the Mountaineers as a defensive analyst, the school announced Friday.
Bill Legg, who played at West Virginia in the 1980s, also returns to serve as an assistant to head coach Neal Brown.
Casteel came to WVU from UTEP at the turn of the century and joined newly hired Rich Rodriguez prior to the 2001 season, where Casteel served as the defensive line coach. He then was the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2002 before getting the full-time defensive coordinator gig from 2003-2011.
During his time, he worked under three head coaches — Rodriguez, Bill Stewart and Dana Holgorsen — running his patented 3-3-5 stack look. After helping WVU win the Orange Bowl in his lone season under Holgorsen, Casteel rejoined Rodriguez at Arizona, where he spent four seasons.
After taking 2016 off, Casteel was hired at Nevada to serve as the defensive coordinator, but was fired after the 2019 season.
During his 11 years at WVU, Casteel helped the Mountaineers win six Big East titles and three BCS bowls.
“I’m excited to welcome Jeff back to West Virginia and the Mountaineer football program,” Brown said in a news release. “He has been a very successful coach throughout his career, and it is great that we can add another West Virginia native to the football staff. I am looking forward to having Jeff, his wife, Rosemary, and his family rejoin the Mountaineer football family.”
Casteel, a Paden City native, will replace the departed Ron West, and will join fellow analysts on WVU’s staff Tyler Hancock (special teams analyst), Ryan Nehlen (offensive analyst) and Casey Vance (defensive analyst.).
Vance was a graduate assistant under Casteel while at Arizona for two seasons and also played under Casteel at WVU from 2008-11.
“Being from the state of West Virginia, I am happy to be back home. West Virginia football means a lot to my family and me,” Casteel said. “I am looking forward to working for Neal Brown and the football staff, because I really respect the direction he is taking the program. I look forward to making a valuable contribution once again to Mountaineer football.”
Legg returns to West Virginia after serving as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Mercer for the past year, coaching four All-Southern Conference selections for the Bears.
“Bill is a great addition to our football staff, not only with his years of successful football coaching experience but also being from the state of West Virginia,” Brown said. “He was the first signee of legendary hall of fame coach Don Nehlen, so he has ties to the program. He is a WVU graduate, a former starter for the football program and coached for several years on the staff. We are excited to have Bill, his wife, Kelly, and his daughter, Sarah, rejoin the Mountaineer football family.”
“This is really an exciting time to be working with the WVU football program,” Legg added. “I have a lot of respect for what coach Brown has already done with the program and the direction it is heading. My family and I look forward to being back home.”
Prior to Mercer, Legg was the senior offensive consultant at Mississippi State in 2018, helping the Bulldogs finish with their highest CFP ranking in school history, a No. 25 ranking in the final Amway Coaches’ Poll and an appearance in the Outback Bowl.
Legg spent eight years as the offensive coordinator at Marshall from 2010-17, helping the Herd to three consecutive 10-win seasons, a 2013 Conference USA runner-up finish, the 2014 Conference USA championship and a 5-0 bowl record.
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