Austin, Texas – Hook ‘Em.com by Austin American-Stateman’s Kirk Bohls wrote a an outstanding piece on West Virginia Head Coach Neal Brown. Bohls, who calls Brown a “rising star”, says that Brown is “shaping West Virginia with an engaged, studious approach.”
Interestingly, the writer points out that Brown has not made excuses for his team’s performance based on issues like COVID, the lack of offseason practice or his coaching staff turnover like Texas Head Coach Tom Herman has. Remember, Brown lost his long-time defensive coordinator Vic Koenning in the middle of the offseason and yet, the Mountaineers have one of the best defenses in the nation through six games this season. In addition, don’t forget, defensive assistants Al Pogue (Auburn) and Blake Seiler (Old Dominion) also bolted Morgantown for jobs elsewhere in the offseason.
But instead of complaining and making excuses like Herman has, Brown has pushed forward and overachieved in his 2nd season as the Head Coach of the Mountaineers.
This, according to the article, is due to Brown’s very measured, meticulous, careful, educated approach to building his football program.
“Brown’s a readaholic who instituted a book club and shares books with players and staff like his favorite, “The Slight Edge”, about creating successful habits and celebrating successes. He is so attentive to the little things that hardly a thing goes unnoticed. He’s so thorough that during his interviews with the WVU radio broadcast team, it was Brown who was asking them questions.”
The Statesman interviewed WVU’s broadcasting director Dan Zangrilli, who called Brown’s preparations “Woodenesque”, referring to the late, great UCLA basketball coach John Wooden. Zangrilli said that nothing is too small or too unimportant for Brown, highlighting that Brown cares even about the janitors and how they mop the floor in the team’s facilities.
Although West Virginians are aware of Neal Brown’s outstanding commitment to the West Virginia University football program, it’s nice to see him gaining respect and admiration from people around the country.
People outside of West Virginia are starting to see what we see here in Morgantown – West Virginia is on the right track for success and will continue to show improvement. “Under Brown, West Virginia has more than a fighting chance with an authentic coach, a proud history, an energized fan base and freshly mopped floors.”
Check out the entire article below:
