Report: Neal Brown, West Virgina expected to agree to new contract extension

West Virginia is close to signing head football coach Neal Brown to a contract extension, according to Adam Rittenberg.

The new deal is one the way after an impressive bounce-back year for Brown and the Mountaineers in 2023.

“Sources: A contract extension for West Virginia coach Neal Brown is expected soon, with an announcement as early as today,” Rittenberg posted on Twitter. “Brown went 9-4 last season with a team picked to finish last in the Big 12. He has spent five years at WVU. He had been under contract through 2026.”

Brown has been the head coach at West Virginia since 2019, compiling a 31-29 record during that time.

He had his best season with the Mountaineers in 2023, leading WVU to a 9-4 record, including a win in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

There was talk that Neal Brown could be on the hot seat, before West Virginia won nine games and went 6-3 in the Big 12 last season.

It makes sense that Brown is getting a contract extension now as it is hard to recruit with only a few years left on your current deal.

Neal Brown came to West Virginia prior to the 2019 season, after spending four years at Troy. The Trojans went 4-8 in Brown’s first season, before winning at least 10 games in each of the next three years.

Neal Brown recalls satisfying 2023 season after being picked 14th in Big 12

Neal Brown is being rewarded after having an excellent 2023 season. He admitted that the Mountaineers performing so well last year was satisfying.

He understood why the Mountaineers were counted out, but internally, people in Morgantown believed 2023 would be a success.

“It was really satisfying,” Brown said during a recent episode of Andy Staples On3. “When I went to the Big 12 Media Days and we got picked last, understood it from a small perspective because the narrative around us was so negative. But what they didn’t see is that our culture had changed.

“Some of our struggles in ’22, some narrow losses, but some things happened that we didn’t a good enough job at athletic department wise and we’ve gotten our football program to really change.”

In Neal’s eyes, the end of the 2022 season was not too bad either. Two wins out of the last three, including the finale against Oklahoma State in Stillwater. Continuing on the three-game losing streak they were on in late October/early November would have been a disaster.

But where Neal believes West Virginia was severely underrated in the preseason was the line of scrimmage. He had faith in the WVU offensive line and defensive line and thought they would be why they could win games.

“I knew we went 5-7 (in 2023),” Brown said. “We won two out of our last three. We beat Oklahoma. We beat Oklahoma State. We weren’t that far away. And then I had a lot of trust in our offensive line and defensive line. I felt like, regardless of league you’re playing in, if you’re good up front, then you have a chance.”