WVU Mountaineer Sports: Basketball | Football | News |WVU Working to Finalize Football Staff

West Virginia is getting closer to finalizing its defensive staff for the football team, but has yet to release anything official regarding the hires.

On Friday, Arkansas State head football coach Gus Malzahn announced that Keith Patterson had resigned from his post as defensive coordinator to take a position "at another NCAA FBS program."

Earlier in the week, multiple people within the WVU program confirmed that Patterson would be brought on as linebackers coach and the co-defensive coordinator position, but nothing had been put in writing.

Players on the Mountaineers roster also said they had met and spoken with Erik Slaughter, former defensive line coach at Stephen F. Austin, around the facilities. Slaughter is expected sign on in the same position for the Mountaineers.

The issue that still exists is when these hires become official and what position each assistant will be taking. Even Joe DeForest, who was hired over a month ago, has no distinction on the staff. He has spoken about his duties as a co-defensive coordinator, but only after a document surfaced that specifically named him as such.

DeForest comes to WVU from Oklahoma State, where he served as special teams coordinator and safeties coach in addition to being the team's associate head coach.

Patterson was just hired at Arkansas State on Jan. 4 after one season as Pittsburgh's defensive coordinator, where he gave up 21 points to West Virginia in a late November meeting. He was named interim head coach for the Panthers' bowl game after head coach Todd Graham took a position at Arizona State.

Prior to Pittsburgh, Patterson was DC at Tulsa.

Slaughter just finished his third season at SFA, the same school where WVU inside receivers coach Shannon Dawson coached before Dana Holgorsen came calling.

It is likely that standard background checks are the culprit for the delay in announcing these hires.

High school prospects continue to say that current wide receivers coach Daron Roberts will be moved to coach cornerbacks, but again, nothing has come from the head coach himself. For now, there are names and plenty of speculation, but silence from the university itself as we head into the weekend.

After Jets assistant Mike Smith signed but then returned to the NFL, it has been anything but a smooth coaching search. A defense replacing many key players from a season ago is certainly looking forward to learning who will be guiding it in 2012.