MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — The West Virginia Mountaineers were picked to finish 14th out of 14 teams in the Big 12 Conference, and were projected to only win a few games, but the Mountaineers finished the season 8-4 overall and 6-3 in conference play. With five full seasons of experience under Neal Brown’s belt, there is still a lot of questions about whether he should remain the head coach at West Virginia or not. Here are two opposing viewpoints on the subject:
Why Neal Brown Should Be Fired (by Brad Smith)
Wren Baker said that he would decide on Neal Brown’s future based on Brown’s entire 5 year resume with the team. Well, here it is…
2019: 5-7
2020: 6-4
2021: 6-7
2022: 5-7
2023: 8-4
Overall, Brown is 30-29, 20-24 in the Big 12 Conference and has zero Top 25 apperances. If Baker is truly looking at Brown’s entire resume and not just this season, firing him is a no-brainer. He simply has not gotten the job done and he should have been fired last season. If you’re comfortable finishing in the middle of the Big 12 Conference standings (at best) and playing in the Liberty Bowl every year, Neal Brown is your man. If you want wants best for West Virginia University and you want a real shot at championships (conference or national), Brown will never, ever accomplish that.
It’s important to remember that Neal Brown has never beaten a team that finishes the season in the Top 25 (0-16) and didn’t beat a team with a winning record this season. While an 8-4 record is certainly good, he didn’t beat a team with a record better than 6-6. In the year that Neal Brown was supposed to prove himself, he still didn’t do it. He didn’t beat Penn State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State or even Houston. He beat a bunch of 6-6 and 5-7 teams, and in a year where he was supposed to make a splash to keep his job, he once again failed to do so. If West Virginia is serious about having a winning football program, Neal Brown will be dismissed as the head coach of the team immediately.
Why Neal Brown Should Not Be Fired (By Clark Johnson)
Look, I get it. The first four years were frustrating. Between all of the transfers, losses, and gut-wrenching moments, fans were ready to chase Neal Brown out of Morgantown. While it was certainly a fair wish given the struggles of the program, there’s just something about Neal Brown that kept the university believing.
After an 8-4 season, it now appears the school was right in their assessment of Brown’s job.
To say that an 8-4 record is not good enough after back-to-back losing seasons is simply asinine. Couple that with a few budding superstars, and a Big 12 that will be a little lighter moving forward, things are setting up nicely for the Mountaineer Football program in the near future. Firing Brown now would only set WVU back, and that is not what anybody wants or needs at this point in time.
This conversation can once again be brought to the forefront if the team takes a dip next season. The bar has been raised, and anything less than 8 wins in 2024 would be unacceptable. But the facts are the facts – Brown has at least earned the chance to show that he can build on success and mold a consistent program.
