In 2019, West Virginia University went in a new direction with their football program by hiring Neal Brown, the former head coach of the Troy Trojans. After multiple promising starts under Brown, the Mountaineers have failed to meet expectations, meaning Neal Brown could be on the hot seat.
Neal Brown arrives in Morgantown
On January 5th, 2019, West Virginia announced that they would be hiring Neal Brown to fill their coaching vacancy. Brown would be the successor of former Mountaineer head coach Dana Holgorsen. Holgorsen led the team to three eight-win (or better) seasons and two top-20 finishes in his previous four seasons at West Virginia.
Since Rich Rodriguez left the program following the 2007 season, West Virginia has seen a slow but drastic decline. From 2002-2011 the Mountaineers had compiled a 95-33 record, including six conference titles (Big East) and three New Year’s Six bowl wins.
Rodriguez would win 11 games in each of his final three seasons at West Virginia. These three seasons would be the program’s last 11-win seasons.
The program’s next coach, William Stewart, would string together three straight 9-4 seasons and win one Big East title before being replaced by Dana Holgorsen. In Holgorsen’s first year as head coach, he would lead the Mountaineers to a 10-3 record, a Big East title, and an Orange Bowl win.
Since 2011, West Virginia has yet to return to a New Year’s Six bowl, has not won a conference title, and has only put together one ten-win season.
Neil Brown’s results with the Mountaineers
After a 3-1 start in Brown’s first season at the helm, the Mountaineers have swiftly regressed.
Despite Brown’s impressive start in 2019, the Mountaineers would only win two of their next eight and finish the season 5-7. After an 8-4 season the year before, Brown had already proved to be less than West Virginia had expected.
In 2020 the Mountaineers would return to just above .500, finishing the regular season 5-4 (4-4 Big 12). West Virginia would then advance to the Liberty Bowl, defeating Army, 24-21. Though the Mountaineers improved, they still finished sixth in the Big 12.
In Brown’s most recent season, West Virginia would finish below .500 for the second time in Brown’s three seasons. The Mountaineers finished their regular season campaign 6-6 before losing their bowl game to Minnesota.
Neil Brown has yet to lead West Virginia to seven or more wins in three seasons.
The hot seat
Neil Brown will start his fourth season as the head coach at West Virginia on the road against the Mountaineers’ rival, Pitt, on September 4th. This coming season will be crucial to Brown’s future with the program.
Both fans and the administration need to decide what kind of program West Virginia will be going forward. Since joining the Big 12, the Mountaineers have yet to win a conference title; since 2010, West Virginia has only managed two 10-win seasons.
If Mountaineer fans and the program are content with mediocrity at best, Brown will be awarded the fifth season regardless of his record in 2022. If the Mountaineers want to compete in the conference or nationally, 2022 could very well be Brown’s last year as head coach.
Authors opinion:
If the Mountaineers can win eight or more games, compete with schools like Pitt, Texas, and the Big 12 as a whole, Brown should be awarded the benefit of the doubt. After all, the program he inherited needed to be restructured.
If Brown wins seven or fewer games in 2022, the university needs to move on. The people of West Virginia deserve more than a 5-7 or 6-6 football team, and there are plenty of young, talented head coaches on the market. If Brown cannot get the job done, there is no sense in waiting to find out who can.