Who is Chad Scott? West Virginia's new interim coach for Bowl game
Offensive coordinator Chad Scott has been named the new interim coach for the West Virginia Mountaineers. West Virginia athletic director Wren Baker announced Scott will take over for former coach Neal Brown in a press release Monday. Baker fired Brown Dec. 1.
West Virginia (6-6, 5-4 Big 12) suffered a 52-15 blowout loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders (8-4, 6-3) in Week 14. Both teams had a slow start in the first quarter but Texas Tech regrouped in the second quarter and had a 35-3 lead at halftime en route to the big win.
Although Brown led West Virginia to bowl eligibility, he will not return for his seventh season due to his failure to improve the program over his tenure. Baker said the team is looking for a new coach for next year.
"Our national search for WVU's 36th head coach is already underway. I am confident that with the strong alignment among the University leadership, our passionate supporters, our proud history, and our willingness to invest, we will have an outstanding pool of candidates."
Brown's firing led Baker to promote Scott to interim head coach for the Mountaineers' upcoming bowl game.
"I appreciate his willingness to step forward to make for as smooth of a transition as possible. I have confidence that Coach Scott will have our team prepared and ready to play," Baker said.
Chad Scott's background
Scott takes over the interim role with a background coaching offenses, despite a career as a cornerback in the NFL. He played in college for the North Carolina Tar Heels and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1997. Scott stayed with the Steelers for seven seasons before playing for the New England Patriots for two seasons. He ended his career after suffering a knee injury before the start of the 2007 season.
After leaving the NFL, Scott focused on becoming a coach. He coached running backs for Troy and Texas Tech. He joined West Virginia as a running back coach in 2019. Scott worked his way to becoming the offensive coordinator for the team for the 2023 season.