MORGANTOWN, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A new name has emerged in the search for West Virginia’s next head football coach.
Besides the two names, Jacksonville State’s Rich Rodriguez and Penn State OC Andy Kotelnicki, which have been consistently mentioned, a new name has emerged today.
According to ESPN Senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter, head coach of the St. Louis Battlehawks, Anthony Becht has interviewed for the head coach position at WVU.
Becht played college football at West Virginia and then several years in the NFL as a tight end.
In 2023, Anthony Becht guided the St. Louis Battlehawks to a 7-3 record, the best performance among rookie head coaches, and tied for the second-best overall record in the XFL.
Becht enjoyed an 11-season NFL career as a tight end, spanning 12 years.
Drafted 27th overall by the New York Jets in the 2000 NFL Draft, he also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, St. Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals, and Kansas City Chiefs.
From 2000 to 2010, Becht appeared in 152 consecutive games, ranking behind only Brett Favre and Peyton Manning in that stretch.
After retiring as a player, Becht became a college football analyst for ESPN and continues to host NY Jets Gameday. He also coached tight ends at the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl and later took on the same role with the San Diego Fleet in the Alliance of American Football in 2019.
A graduate of West Virginia University, Becht earned the John Russell Award and was named the Mountaineers’ MVP in 1999.
He served as a Trust Captain for the NFLPA Trust from 2015 to 2020 and is currently the Legends Community Southeast Coordinator.
