Morgantown, West Virginia – Down 17-0 and following another terrible decision by 5th year redshirt senior quarterback Jarret Doege in yesterday’s embarrassing loss at Kansas State, Neal Brown attempted to coach Doege and discuss the play.
Instead, Doege casually passed by Brown, quickly said something and then continued walking to the bench as Brown yelled at Doege’s back. When a team’s “leader” clearly dismisses the head coach on national television, there is a major problem.
Neal Brown and Jarret Doege will pass off their brief spat on the sideline as a moment of frustration in the heat of the battle, there’s more to this story.
Whether Doege is frustrated or disappointed with how things are going, it’s never okay to simply walk away from your head coach when he’s talking to you. Particularly not on national television and in front of thousands of people. Especially when the man he walked away from is virtually the only person on the planet that still believes in Doege’s abilities.
Following that clear sign of disrespect, Jarret Doege should have never been allowed back on the field. Neal Brown needs to make a statement to his team and that would have been the ultimate statement to his players.
Benching Doege in favor of true freshman Will “Goose” Crowder would have done two things for Brown: 1.) Shown his players that disrespect like that would not be tolerated. 2.) Given Crowder an opportunity to prove himself for the future during an already lost season. Brown has praised Crowder countless times for his cool and confidence, and throwing him in the fire down 17-0 on the road in the Big 12 would have really tested him.
Instead, Brown allowed Doege’s lack of respect, lost the game and gained absolutely nothing from it. Unfortunately, situations like this carry over into the locker room and other players on the team see it. If Neal Brown hasn’t already completely lost the West Virginia locker room, he will very soon.
Any way you slice it, this is a bad look for both Jarret Doege and Neal Brown. pic.twitter.com/wPg46Uncz5
— The Voice of Morgantown (@voicemorgantown) November 14, 2021
