The West Virginia Mountaineers are looking to get back to their old ways of being a dominant offensive powerhouse. This past season wasn’t the year for them as they were right in the middle of the pack of the Big 12.
The team finished 8-5 with a win in the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl, but for 2016 they have bigger things on their mind. According to reports, they have started by adding former Texas offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Joe Wickline to their staff as their new offensive coordinator.
Gazette-Mail has learned WVU aims to name Joe Wickline offensive coordinator. Contracts for Damon Cogdell, Joe DeForest will not be renewed.
— Mike Casazza (@mikecasazza) January 10, 2016
Wickline spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons with the Longhorns running their offense and offensive line. Head coach Charlie Strong decided to go in a different direction, naming Sterlin Gilbert the new OC and Matt Mattox the new offensive line coach.
Strong addressed Wickline and former quarterbacks coach Shawn Watson in a statement.
“Shawn’s been on our staff for five years, and I really appreciate everything he’s done for us here and at Louisville,” Strong told SportsDay. “I’ve known Joe for a long time and have enjoyed working with him. They are really good coaches and high-quality people. I’m grateful for all they’ve done, but feel like with our new vision for our offense, we’re at a point where we need to look in a different direction in their positions. I thank them and wish them the best.”
During the 2015 season, Wickline’s line gave up 32, which was bad enough to place the Longhorns in the bottom 30 in the nation. Luckily, the Mountaineers had a much better time on the line, giving up only 15 sacks on the year and Wickline’s rushing offense was also one of the better in the Big 12.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
