Dana Holgorsen didn't have to look far to find his new defensive coordinator. He just walked down the hall.
FootballScoop reported Wednesday night that West Virginia would tap Gibson to be its defensive coordinator in 2014 and that the Mountaineers would replace outgoing coordinator Keith Patterson by hiring a defensive line coach.
A native of Van, W. Va., Gibson played at Glenville State and coached previously in the Mountain State at Gilmer County High School (1995), Glenville State (1996) and West Virginia (1999-07) and spent the 2011 season at nearby Pittsburgh. He followed Rich Rodriguez to Michigan in 2008 and then joined his original staff at Arizona in 2012 before returning to Morgantown as safeties coach in 2013.
Gibson can help West Virginia most by just sticking around. He'll be the Mountaineers' fourth defensive coordinator in as many years and, as a well-liked coach with the aforementioned ties to the area, he's an important piece to a staff that needs to build continuity.
In his first year back on the staff, Gibson helped West Virginia's secondary post improvements in yards per attempt allowed, opponent completion percentage, opponent passer rating, touchdown-to-interception ratio and passing defense.