Aformer Tennessee Vols assistant coach was named by ESPN this week as a potential option to replace Neal Brown as the head coach at West Virginia.
The Mountaineers fired Brown, who played college football at Kentucky and UMass, this week after he went 37-35 in six seasons as the head football coach in Morgantown.
ESPN listed former Vols offensive coordinator Tyson Helton as an option to replace Brown.
Helton is currently the head coach at Western Kentucky.
From ESPN: Western Kentucky coach Tyson Helton: His hiring drew some skepticism at the time, but he has done well at WKU, recording eight or more wins in five of his six seasons and an overall record of 48-30 with four bowl wins. Helton’s offenses are consistently among the nation’s best, and he has worked relatively close to West Virginia at WKU, Cincinnati and Tennessee. The 47-year-old nearly got the Purdue job when it opened two years ago and likely will make a move soon to the Power 4.
Helton, who grew up in Florida and Texas, has been the head coach at Western Kentucky since 2019. He has a 48-30 record in his six seasons leading the Hilltoppers.
In 2018, Helton served as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator under then head coach Jeremy Pruitt. Helton, who is the younger brother of former USC head coach Clay Helton, spent just one season on Rocky Top before leaving to become the head coach at Western Kentucky.
UNLV head coach Barry Odom, Marshall head coach Charles Huff, and former Texas A&M/Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher (a West Virginia native) were also named by ESPN as potential options to replace Brown.