The West Virginia Mountaineers found their new head man on Friday afternoon, announcing that they have hired Troy head coach Neal Brown to the same position. Brown received a six-year contract for the position, as he replaces Dana Holgorsen, who left West Virginia to coach Houston just two days ago. At 38 years old, Brown is one of just six FBS coaches with 10 wins in each of the past three seasons. In four seasons at Troy, he went 35-16, as he overcame a 4-8 record in his first season with the team by going 31-8 in his final three seasons, each of which were double digit winning seasons.
Brown appeared in three bowl games with Troy, winning the 2017 Sun Belt Conference Championship one season. They were co-champions of the conference this season, but Brown now has a tougher task with the crowded Big 12 Conference now being his focus. He did lead Troy to a nice victory over the then-25th-ranked LSU Tigers, 24-21, in 2017. That win snapped LSU's 49-game non-conference winning streak at Tiger Stadium, which added to the impressive nature of the victory.
West Virginia is coming off of some nice leadership over the past near decade, as Holgorsen went 61-41 in eight seasons with the Mountaineers. The now former WVU coach was introduced by Houston in a press conference on Thursday, as the Cougars landed him to replace Major Applewhite, who was fired last weekend. Houston, who went 8-4 this past season, gave Holgorsen a five-year contract that is worth $20 million. There is not yet word on the financial terms of Brown's new deal, but he will have to truly earn it to keep the Mountaineers relevant in conference play.
Brown appeared in three bowl games with Troy, winning the 2017 Sun Belt Conference Championship one season. They were co-champions of the conference this season, but Brown now has a tougher task with the crowded Big 12 Conference now being his focus. He did lead Troy to a nice victory over the then-25th-ranked LSU Tigers, 24-21, in 2017. That win snapped LSU's 49-game non-conference winning streak at Tiger Stadium, which added to the impressive nature of the victory.
West Virginia is coming off of some nice leadership over the past near decade, as Holgorsen went 61-41 in eight seasons with the Mountaineers. The now former WVU coach was introduced by Houston in a press conference on Thursday, as the Cougars landed him to replace Major Applewhite, who was fired last weekend. Houston, who went 8-4 this past season, gave Holgorsen a five-year contract that is worth $20 million. There is not yet word on the financial terms of Brown's new deal, but he will have to truly earn it to keep the Mountaineers relevant in conference play.
