(Photo by WVU Athletics)
Look, I absolutely love Neal Brown as a person. He’s genuine, down to Earth, friendly, just everything you want in your head coach. I’ve wanted nothing but for him to succeed at WVU. The stars just seemed to be perfectly aligned when he landed with the Mountaineers. It was the perfect fit. However, fast forward four seasons later and that vision everyone had in mind is crumbling.
As I sit and contemplate the future of this program, it’s just hard to envision it ever being successful under Neal Brown. What we witnessed in Austin on Saturday night are the same mistakes, same coaching errors, and same undisciplined play that has plagued WVU since Brown arrived in 2019. Coming into his tenure, play like this was to be expected due to the team’s inexperience and lack of talent – but we’re in year four and this is still going on.
We have a young secondary, yes. Texas has all of the talent in the world, also yes. This, however, does not give the team an excuse to come out absolutely flat against a marquee program in one of the biggest venues in College Football. That, my friends, is on coaching. That is on Neal Brown.
Time and time again, and then time again, this team is just not prepared to play. Excuses be damned, this should not be happening in year four. When you have a program like Kansas that has completely turned around in year two of a head coach, it is hard to keep taking up for Neal Brown and his staff. The Jayhawks were the absolute worst team in the FBS and now they’re hosting College Gameday next weekend. The Mountaineers, on the other hand, are now 2-3 and sitting with an 0-2 record in Big 12 play.
It’s unbelievable. It’s frustrating. It simply just can’t be tolerated anymore.
No, I’m not saying Neal Brown has to be fired, but he simply has to show us something to believe in him. We have to see a glimmer of something to have hope that he can take this program to the heights we once believed he could. This is why, in my mind, the future is now hazy with Brown. The same errors, same mistakes, and same coaching follies are still there. They haven’t went away, and honestly, I don’t see them going away anytime soon.
We’re 2-3 right now, that’s just the reality. It can’t be changed. We now have seven games remaining to prove that we can be the program we once were, or even show that we have hope to get there. It all begins against Baylor under the lights in Morgantown. The future of this program we love dearly is hanging in the balance, and it’s in Neal Brown’s hands.
So what will it be, Coach? Will this defining moment in your career be when you finally prove you belong, or will it only continue to spiral downward? I hope with everything that you can get this turned around, Coach Brown. I want you to be good…I want you to be here for the long haul.
But things absolutely have to change for me to keep my faith. You have to prove to the fans that we have a future with you.
It’s now or never.
