It's an approach that seems to make so much sense, you may be surprised to hear it doesn't happen more often. 

 

More on that coming up. First, some background. 

 

By now, you've heard Danny 'Blue' Adams has joined the Mountaineer coaching staff as the cornerbacks coach. He replaces the departed Brian Mitchell, who left WVU to take the same position at Virginia Tech. 

 

Gibson had said previously he was looking for a coach that excelled at the teaching aspect of coaching. Yes, the ability to recruit is always important for college coaches, but Gibson felt the staff was strong when it came to getting players. 

 

On paper, it would appear Gibson found a perfect fit. Adams comes to WVU from the Miami Dolphins, where he coached since 2012. 

 

He also spent time in the college ranks as well. Adams was the secondary coach at Northern Iowa in 2011. Prior to that, Adams spent a season at Purdue as a grad assistant.

 

The final piece to Adams' resume is the fact he played six seasons in the NFL. Playing experience in 'the league' will give Adams instant credibility when he walks in the room to talk to his players. 

 

The bonus with Adams? He's a Florida native. West Virginia feels good about about its presence and reputation in that state, but adding another guy with ties certainly doesn't hurt.  

 

Tony Gibson went searching for a new staff member. He found a guy who had coached in both the pros and college, had played in the NFL AND was from Florida. 

 

Talk about checking all of the boxes. Adams does. The one thing Gibson had to be sure of, however, was how he would fit in. 

 

We talk about fit quite often when it comes to players and coaches. Rarely, though, do we see a coach put fit as high on their wish list as Gibson did. 

 

In order to get a different perspective on the candidates and test their ability to fit with the culture of the program, Gibson did something he had never done before.  He let the players "interview" each candidate. It's a technique straight out of the Management 101 textbook, but one rarely used by coaches or administrators. 

 

Gibson admitted he had never used players in the interview process before nor had it happened on any other coaching staff he had been a part of previously. Getting input from the actual people most impacted by the hire would seem to be a no-brainer. It wasn't. At least in Gibson's world. 

 

That approach proved to be so successful, Gibson says he will use it again. He also told me some of the other members of the coaching staff liked it so much, they will also use it the next time they need a coach. 

 

If Blue Adams turns out to be the good hire many think he is, credit the current Mountaineer players and a little out-of-the-box thinking by Tony Gibson. 

 

Editor's Note: Top photo courtesy of WVU Sports Communications, photo by Dale Sparks. Bottom photo by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com.