West Virginia may be considering a quarterback change, but head coach Neal Brown is keeping his plans under wraps.
The season has not gone well for West Virginia and starting quarterback Garrett Greene. After suffering an upper-body injury against Kansas State, the Mountaineers might need to turn to redshirt sophomore Nicco Marchiol once more for the upcoming game against Cincinnati.
Brown refrained from naming a starter for next week’s matchup, also avoiding a firm declaration that Greene would regain his position if healthy.
“I really can’t give you an answer until Garrett’s healthy, and he’s not healthy right now. I think it’s hard to lose jobs when you’re injured. I don’t think that’s a good practice. But Nicco played really well, and I’m happy for him. But I don’t have any long-term answers for you right now. Has Nicco played well enough to deserve some playing time? Absolutely. But as far as starter or anything, we’re not going to talk about that until Garrett’s healthy, and that’s just not where we’re at right now,” Brown stated.
Recently, following the firing of defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley, it seems Brown is behaving differently. Just weeks ago, he expressed frustration over questions about Greene’s job security. Now, he is ambiguous about Greene’s status.
Something seems off. Either Greene’s injury is significant, and the timeline for his return is being assessed, or Brown is impressed with Marchiol’s performance against Arizona and believes he offers a better chance of winning in the remaining games this season.
Brown knows that the team’s win-loss record must improve, or he could face dismissal. Firing Lesley indicates he is searching for solutions. If he decides to switch quarterbacks and Marchiol performs well in November, it might secure Brown another season with the administration.
In my view, Lesley’s firing is not directly linked to Brown’s future at West Virginia. However, the results after this change could be critical. WVU would prefer to avoid paying a $10 million buyout for Brown and his staff, along with the expenses of hiring a new coaching team. Yet, if Brown loses three out of the last four games, it’s difficult to envision a scenario in which he returns. This is my assessment of the situation and not based on any private discussions.
Brown needs to demonstrate progress to the fanbase and, more importantly, to the administration as they look ahead to 2025. Entering the offseason with Lesley gone and not evaluating what Marchiol can do as the starting quarterback could foster doubt about future improvements.
