Twenty seasons ago, West Virginia football kicked off a run of seven consecutive seasons of nine or more wins as the program punched postseason tickets to prestigious bowls the likes of the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar, among others.
The Mountaineers have had just two seasons with 10 wins in the past 14 years, none since 2016 and no more than nine in that near-decade.
Neal Brown is out and West Virginia football needs a new leader.
West Virginia, however, is still West Virginia. It's an attractive job, and no shortage of coaches are trying to enter the fray.
Here's the latest from FootballScoop:
The biggest name is the biggest unknown: Jimbo Fisher. In his own words, Florida State's former national championship-winning head coach said earlier this fall he does desire to be a head coach again.
This, after Texas A&M's choosing to pay Fisher $75 million to depart its program a year ago.
He's a Clarksburg, W. Va., native, who's own collegiate playing career traces to Salem College in the state.
For several weeks, several sources have continued to share with FootballScoop that Fisher does have an interest in the top job at his native state's flagship school.
His buyout-money from A&M was fully guaranteed with no offeset; Fisher could be free to potentially take the job while still collecting the full $75 million from the Aggies.
He did elite work at FSU before it faded late, but he never advanced the Aggies to the SEC Championship nor the College Football Playoff.
Then there's former beloved West Virginia head man Rich Rodriguez. He posted a 22-3 mark in his final two seasons atop the Mountaineers in 2005-06 before departing for the top job at Michigan.
That move apparently still leaves a few feathers ruffled around Morgantown, but RichRod is a ball coach and his teams win. His work now at Jacksonville State continues to gain notice and respect from his peers.
He's led Jacksonville State to 26 wins in his three seasons at the helm of the Gamecocks, including an A-Sun Championship in his first season, a New Orleans Bowl win in year two and his squad plays Western Kentucky Friday night for the Conference USA Championship.
Additionally, multiple sources tell FootballScoop's Scott Roussel and John Brice that beloved former Mountaineers and NFL star Pat McAfee, a Pennsylvania native who committed to RichRod and played for him his first two seasons at West Virginia before the Michigan opening, has made clear to West Virginia supporters that he would strongly favor a return of Rodriguez to lead the Mountaineers.
Those are the top two names, where the search is expected to take its origination before moving elsewhere.
But those aren't the only names to watch.
Western Kentucky head coach Tyson Helton was deeply in the mix at East Carolina last month, but Blake Harrell's remarkable work as interim head coach got that tag removed.
Helton, a finalist two years ago for the Purdue job, is expected to be again involved in that search but also could factor here. He's a strong offensive-minded coach with Power Conference experience at both USC and Tennessee as an assistant, among other stops.
UNLV head coach Barry Odom and Wren Baker are both Oklahoma natives. Further, they worked together at both Memphis and Missouri. There is a level of comfort there. The work Odom has done at UNLV puts him near the top of many lists around the country.
Another Oklahoman, Ohio head coach Tim Albin might wind up getting a call as well. What Albin has been able to do at Ohio has caught the eye of many an athletic director. Ohio plays Saturday for the MAC Championship. Albin is also on several other lists across the country.
Although he seems trending toward the top spot at Southern Miss barring something unforeseen, Marshall head coach Charles Huff deserves a strong look. He's done solid work across his four years at Marshall, culminating in that program's first-ever conference title appearance later this week. Huff's resumè also includes a 2022 road-win at a top-10 ranked Notre Dame and also against Virginia Tech.
The Thundering Herd, either way, are preparing for a fourth bowl trip in as many seasons with Huff at the helm.
Liberty coach Jamey Chadwell also is expected to be in the mix at West Virginia if the search moves beyond the Fisher-Rodriguez duo. Chadwell's done excellent work at both the FCS and FBS level, parlaying his Coastal Carolina success into the opportunity to replace Hugh Freeze at Liberty two years ago.
The Flames stepped back this year after double-digit wins in 2023, but they've still remained viable under Chadwell.