Sep 16, 2017; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers defensive coordinator Tony Gibson walks along the sidelines during the first quarter against the Delaware State Hornets at Milan Puskar Stadium. Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Here We Go Again... Tony Gibson Takes Shot at WVU

Originally posted on West Virginia Mountaineers on SI
By Christopher Hall | Last updated Apr 16, 2025 3:36 PM ET

Well, it didn’t take long for former West Virginia University defensive coordinator and now current Marshall University head coach, Tony Gibson, to take a shot at WVU for not putting the Thundering Herd on the schedule.

“I was on the other side of this rivalry at WVU. Nobody wanted to play Marshall for a lot of different reasons,” Gibson said. “The biggest reason was you didn’t want to be the one that lost to Marshall.”

It's been 13 years since WVU and Marshall played each other. @HerdFB coach @CoachTonyGibson discussed reigniting the series with @Taylor_Kennedy7 on the latest edition of Coaches Corner. #WVU

Full interview: https://t.co/uUzND5kB1s pic.twitter.com/hJXkzvnI5B
— Gazette-Mail Sports (@GazMailSports) April 16, 2025

Clearly, he’s pandering to a fanbase that still lives in a state of delusion that somehow believe the two schools are on level.

He brings a financial argument, stating, it would “keep the money in state.” If you’re talking about the economic factor, West Virginia doesn’t need Marshall to sell tickets, but Marshall needs WVU to fill up its little stadium. Fans will come to Morgantown on opening weekend regardless of who the opponent is, and it’s proven every single season.

And if we’re being honest, if the two schools are hosting teams the same day, wouldn’t the economic impact be greater? It doesn’t take a math whiz to know two events on the same day would have greater value. That is, if the Marshall fan base actually showed up to one of their home games.

He brings up the upcoming 2-1 series the Mountaineers have with Ohio, which no WVU fans were pleased with, but it was a short trend that some Power Five, now Four, schools were doing to appease some of the smaller schools. Of note, Alabama recently scheduled USF to a similar deal, but Marshall would not accept this offer from WVU years ago. They believe they deserve a home and home.

These arguments are absurd, and every offseason it pops up on social media and now, Gibson has succumbed to this nonsense, and it’s already the second time Gibson has brought this up since taking over in Huntington.

Gibson stated in his introductory press conference late last year, “I have had the honor to work for a lot of great head football coaches. One of them that just got hired at the school up north. So, I think it’s time for the Friends of Coal Bowl again.”

West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez addressed Gibson’s statement at his introductory press conference, saying, "Gibby is a great friend of mine. Was a great staff member, and we're still very dear friends. But if you think I've spent one second thinking about Marshall you're wrong. I could care less what's going on in Huntington."

I’m not sure of Rodriguez will respond any time soon as he’s trying to fill out his 105-man roster before the start of fall camp, ideally, before summer workouts, but I imagine his reply may not come across as kind the second time around.