Neal Brown Finds Soft Landing Spot at SEC School

Folks who have been watching football around the Commonwealth since the mid-90s first knew him as Boyle County’s “Touchdown” Neal Brown. He didn’t catch as many touchdowns in a Kentucky uniform, but he learned a lot from Hal Mumme and Mike Leach.

Brown is now probably best known as the former West Virginia head football coach. After a few months of unemployment, the Kentucky native is back in business in SEC country.

On3’s Pete Nakos reports Neal Brown will join Steve Sarkisian’s staff for the 2025 Texas football season. It’s unclear exactly what that role will be, but it feels like Sark is taking the Nick Saban approach. Brown needs to stay around the game and he’s got decades of experience as a play-caller at the power conference ranks. That will serve Texas well in its quest for a National Championship with Arch Manning under center.

Neal Brown did not consistently call plays at West Virginia. Some Kentucky fans may not remember how well he dialed it up during his two years as Mark Stoops’ offensive coordinator. The Cats averaged 29.2 points per game with redshirt sophomore Patrick Towles under center. There have only been two higher-scoring offenses in the Mark Stoops era, the 10-win 2021 team and the 2016 Wildcats.

Following that 2014 season, Brown got his first head coaching job at Troy. After a sluggish first season, the Trojans rattled off three straight 10-win seasons, each capped off by a bowl win. Similar to Jon Sumrall, his success made many wonder if Mitch Barnhart would one day make the former Wildcat a future Kentucky head coach.

West Virginia brought Brown down the country roads ahead of the 2019 season. The Mountaineers went 6-4 and won the Liberty Bowl during the shortened Covid season. They always remained in the middle of the road in the Big 12, until West Virginia got a new athletic director and his job was on the line. He was a dead-man walking when West Virginia finished a 9-4 season with a victory over North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. Unfortunately, they could not maintain momentum into 2025, falling to 6-6.

In six years, Brown was 37-35 at West Virginia. They brought Rich Rodriguez home to try to relive glory days and dig out of the middle of the Big 12.

Things didn’t work for Neal Brown in Morgantown. After a year or two in Austin, he’ll be right back in the middle of the coaching carousel discussion. Will it be as an offensive coordinator or general manager at the power conference ranks, or a G5 head coach? Time will tell.

Big Blue Nation will see Brown back in his old Kentucky home on October 18.