Vic Koenning joined the Mountaineer football coaching staff as the defensive coordinator in January 2019 .Koenning came to West Virginia after serving as his defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Troy from 2015-18.
From 2016-18, Troy’s defense allowed 20.8 points per game, ranking No. 4 nationally among non-power 5 schools. In the last four years, the Trojans are No. 2 nationally among FBS schools in takeaways (106).
In 2018, Troy’s defense gave up 22.0 points per game, ranking No. 28 nationally and 347.9 yards per game, ranking No. 31 in the nation. The Trojan defense was No. 3 nationally in turnovers gained (31), No. 5 in interceptions (18) and fumbles recovered (13), No. 11 in turnover margin (0.77), No. 16 in tackles for loss (7.6), No. 21 in red zone defense and tied for No. 28 in first-down defense (240).