West Virginia assistant coach Noel Devine has been placed on indefinite leave after the former star running back was arrested Sunday and charged with felony strangulation.
Devine, 38, joined his former coach, Rich Rodriguez, as an assistant running backs coach and offensive analyst last season, upon Rodriguez’s return to Morgantown. His bond was set at $40,000.
Devine, the school’s all-time leader in all-purpose yards, was booked into the North Central Regional Jail at 12:45 p.m., less than one day after West Virginia’s 52-7 win over UT Martin, according to multiple reports.
“Upon receiving information of the arrest, I have immediately and indefinitely put Noel Devine on leave from the Mountaineer football coaching staff,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “Any future decision on his status will be determined after more information becomes available.”
Devine, who went undrafted in 2011 after leaving West Virginia, was signed by the Eagles that summer, but left the team less than a week later.
He spent multiple seasons in the CFL, then founded a speed training company in Florida before Rodriguez hired him.
“Noel knows how I run my program, and more importantly, he wants to give back to the place that has given him so much,” Rodriguez said last year.
“He knows Mountaineer football, and he will be a great asset on the offensive side of the ball.”
