LEXINGTON, KY — Utah State’s agonizing inability to keep a head coach longer than one or two years may be continuing this offseason as Jerrod Calhoun could head east to take on a new role.
With rumors flying that he’s a frontrunner to be the next head coach at West Virginia, the current Aggies coach was asked about his future, be it in Logan or Morgantown. He gave a lengthy response, but ultimately didn’t commit to remaining with the Aggies.
Here was his response to the question, in full.
“I have a ton of respect for our athletic director. Diana (Sabau) took a gamble on me. We didn’t know each other. We had no relationship, no previous relationship, did not know each other at all. The first time I flew out to Utah State was in April. I can remember getting off the plane and you know seeing those mountains, and it was just hard to describe, the scenery. And instantly we had a connection. There was a really good plan.
“I met with every single player and this year has been unbelievable. I’ve learned to understand the West Coast. We started to recruit the West Coast. We’ve got a top five [recruiting class], we’ve got five kids that are coming in, they can really play. You see what type of talent we can have coming back.
“I was just offered a tremendous opportunity by Diana and the staff over the last, really 24 hours. So, I think right now I want to just kind of continue to talk about the game, but I think at Utah State you can win a national championship. I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t believe it.
“One thing that has changed is the NIL. You’re looking at Big Ten teams now upwards of nine, 10 million dollars. You’re looking at the SEC spending between five and eight and 10 million dollars for rosters. So I think one thing that we’ve done a tremendous job of, and if Diana was not the athletic director and our staff and Nick (Eliason) and Eric Laub and the support we have, we wouldn’t make those jumps and those gains in NIL.
“So there’s a lot to really digest from the season there’s a ton to learn about not only the Mountain West but what’s the Pac-12 gonna look like? What’s Gonzaga gonna look like? What are some of these teams when you get in the tournament setting? I think at the mid-major level — I don’t really consider us a mid-major, I consider us a mid-plus, in two years we’re gonna be as this is to a Power Four as possible — you gotta have continuity. You’re looking at some of these mid-major teams that are winning, they have continuity. And I’ve said that all along. If you can get guys multiple years, you got a chance to make a run. We just kind of threw this thing together in a very, very short period of time, about a month. So I think you gotta reflect, figure out where we’re going collectively and try to do it.”
The whole situation stems from the Mountaineers losing their head coach, Darian DeVries, to Indiana. Reports in and around the West Virginia program have repeatedly reported that Calhoun is the most likely candidate for West Virginia to pursue.
Two other names have been linked to the head coach job at WVU, Drake head coach Ben McCollum and Chester Frazier, who served as an assistant coach under DeVries. McCollum is viewed by most as the better candidate, but he’s been heavily linked with the opening at Iowa and may not be available for the Mountaineers.
Calhoun referenced a contract opportunity, likely the one reported by USU radio play-by-play voice Scott Garrard, which reportedly would make Calhoun the second-highest paid coach in the Mountain West. San Diego State’s Brian Dutcher is currently the highest paid head coach, with a 2025-26 salary of $2.7 million with Niko Medved at Colorado State being the second-highest with his salary next year being $1.75 million.
West Virginia would likely be paying Calhoun a minimum of $1 million more per year. DeVries commanded a salary of $2.8 his first season at WVU, with Utah State’s offer reported to be around $1.8 million.
The Aggies’ previous three coaches – Craig Smith, Ryan Odom and Danny Sprinkle – each had decreasingly short tenures. Smith lasted three seasons, Odom only two and just a single season from Sprinkle. Each departure on its own weren’t hard pills to swallow. Smith and Sprinkle opted for a massive spike in salary at high-major schools and Odom sought a lateral move that took him much closer to home.
Stacked altogether though, and it’s becoming almost too much to bear. Were Calhoun added to the list and the inability for coaches to remain in Logan would become comical, if not utterly depressing for the fan base.
