Report: West Virginia is expected to part ways with defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley

West Virginia He is expected to part ways with defensive coordinator Jordan Lesleysaid Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports.

WVU is currently the third-worst defense in the Big 12. Lesley was previously nominated for the Broyles Award in 2020 and 2021.

Zenitz followed up by reporting that linebackers coach Jeff Koonz will be promoted to interim coach at DC.

Lesley was in the middle of his sixth season at West Virginia. He started as a defensive line coach in 2019 before moving to DC the following season.

Before West Virginia, Lesley coached at Troy. From 2016 to 2018, Troy's defense scored 20.8 points per game, ranking 4th nationally among non-Power 5 schools. Three of Lesley's defensive linemen were named to the All-Sun Belt Conference team, including Trevon Saunders, who received first-team honors.

Prior to Troy, Lesley was the defensive coordinator at East Mississippi Community College in Scooba, Mississippi (2013-15) before completing two stints at Northwest Mississippi Community College in Senatobia, Mississippi.

He also spent two stints at Kilgore College in Kilgore, Texas, first as linebackers coach from 2007 to 2009 and as defensive coordinator in 2011. In 2006, he spent a year as an assistant coach at Troy.

West Virginia beat Arizona 31-26 on Saturday to improve to 4-4. Still, there were higher expectations for the program and head coach Neal Brown addressed that earlier this month.

“I understand they want to win, but what I would say is: Did they have a good time? You know what I mean? Did you like it?” Brown said. “It was a pretty good atmosphere. I'm assuming they probably had quite a bit of fun tailgating.

“If they do the deal for fun, I would come back because I was looking at the weather. It will be beautiful again. It's a night game. That's why we need them to give us a home advantage. We need them.”