West Virginia Football: Neal Brown a slam dunk hire for Mountaineers

West Virginia football moved quickly to find Dana Holgorsen’s replacement, reaching an agreement to hire Troy’s Neal Brown soon after Holgorsen’s departure.

Dana Holgorsen’s departure for Houston left a vacancy in Morgantown which didn’t stay open for long. Days after Holgorsen was officially announced, West Virginia is expected to hire Troy’s Neal Brown as their next head coach.

West Virginia faces the daunting task of fending off college football bluebloods Texas and Oklahoma every year in the Big 12. The talent disparity between the Mountaineers and these two programs has always been sizable. This school needed to hire a giant killer; they did.

Brown’s Troy squad upset No. 25 LSU in Death Valley in 2017. Last year their encore came in Lincoln, Nebraska in a win over the Corn Huskers and newly appointed head coach Scott Frost. Troy won three consecutive bowl games under Brown’s direction and reached 10 wins in each of his last three seasons.

Prior to his arrival at Troy, Brown served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Texas Tech (2010-2012) and Kentucky (2013-2014). His Tech teams finished inside the Top 25 in scoring offense and he took a putrid Kentucky offense (ranked No. 119 in the nation before his arrival) and improved it to No. 62 in the nation in two short years.

The offensive prowess will fit will with what West Virginia fans have come to expect, but it’s Brown’s defensive success which brings the most reason for excitement. The Trojans ranked inside the Top 35 in total defense in each of Brown’s last three seasons, something which could go a long way in the Big 12. Troy’s No. 31 ranked defense in 2018 would have ranked second in the Big 12, TCU was No. 24.

There will be some growing pains — Holgorsen departed with a depleted roster which loses several NFL-bound players, headlined by quarterback Will Grier. Regardless, the long term looks bright in Morgantown as long as Brown is at the helm.