John Wiley, a former longtime assistant coach at Appalachian State, has been tagged as the next defensive coordinator by Western Carolina head football coach, Mark Speir. Wiley brings over 30 years of coaching experience at a variety of levels to the Catamount football program. Speir worked with Wiley at App State from 2003-09, five of those seasons on the defensive side of the football.
Wiley returns to the familiar mountains of western North Carolina after spending six seasons in the eastern part of the state at East Carolina. He most recently accepted an associate head coaching position at Texas State under former App State player, TSU head coach Everett Withers. Wiley resigned his position at Texas State prior to the 2016 season citing personal and family reasons.
"I am extremely pleased that John Wiley has accepted our defensive coordinator position," said Speir of his longtime colleague. "John is an experienced coach and a proven winner. We coached together at Appalachian State where John led our defense and was a part of that staff that won three national championships and six Southern Conference titles. He also brings over 20 years of experience in recruiting North Carolina to the position."
Speir added, "It is always comforting to hire a guy you have worked with and trust. John will move in from day one and understand our vision and the expectations for this Catamount football program. He will be a great representative for Western Carolina University."
During his six seasons as the associate head and linebackers coach at East Carolina, Wiley was a part of helping guide the Pirates to four bowl game appearances, and helped transform ECU's defense into one of the nation's top 40 units in two of his final three years. He was instrumental in producing six all-conference players including three first-team selections, a Freshman All-American, and a conference freshman of the year.
ASUG8 wrote:When I saw this I jokingly thought "probably another former App guy."
As much as we try, we can't get away from the shadow of Appy State......
I think that Speir only knows ASU coaches, and when he does hire someone out side of the App coaching tree, it's a total failure like the recently fired DC.
