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How Neal Brown is helping to shape Arch Manning’s leadership ability at Texas

by:EvanVieth•about 15 hours
Steve Sarkisian
Steve Sarkisian, Neal Brown (Scott Wachter-Imagn Images)

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian has been no stranger to utilizing former head coaches as analysts on both sides of the ball.

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Whether it was Gary Patterson in 2022 or Paul Chryst in 2023, Sarkisian has relied on the expertise of past leaders to amplify the mental and strategic aspects of previous seasons.

With major turnover common in these roles, Sarkisian’s strength in building strong relationships within the sport has become an asset for the Texas football staff. This constant change, coupled with his ability to work with various professionals in the industry, enables him to tailor each hire based on the team’s needs for the season.

For the 2025 season, Sarkisian has made it clear what he wants with the hiring of former West Virginia head coach Neal Brown: the ability to mentor Arch Manning into a leader.

“Neal has been an awesome addition,” Sarkisian said Monday. “When you can have an extra set of head coach eyes, it’s always helpful because they’re always looking for the things that, from a head coach’s perspective, are important to you. You can’t see it all the time, and he’s done a great job with that.”

Brown spent six seasons at West Virginia before he was replaced by Rich Rodriguez, but he first made his name in college football by taking Troy to three consecutive 10-win seasons and developing QB Brandon Silvers from a two-star recruit into a multi-year 3,000-yard passer.

Brown now has a very specific role at Texas in mentoring Manning on aspects outside of the mechanical and physical sides of the quarterback position.

“Coach Neal Brown has been doing a really good job with me, just trying to be a better leader,” Manning told the press last week.

Advice from Brown included encouraging Manning to sit with every position group during team meals this spring and working on rallying the team behind him. There’s no bigger identity change coming to Texas than at the quarterback position, where Quinn Ewers led for three years. Manning will need to help the team adjust to a new signal caller and captain of the offense.

Brown has worked across the offense to ease this transition, while the addition of more specialized position coaches like TE coach Jason McEndoo has allowed the staff to focus on one-on-one coaching.

“He’s done a great job working with the offense and learning our offense, but at the same time, we’re getting things from him schematically, from a practice standpoint, and especially from a leadership standpoint,” Sarkisian said about Brown. “He’s been around it. He’s done it at a high level. I’ve got a ton of respect for Neal. That’s why he’s here.”

At the end of the day, what’s most important for the success of this team is Manning’s development and his potential to blossom into a star. The hiring of Brown has allowed Sarkisian, QB coach AJ Milwee, and even Manning himself to embrace their roles in this process.

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“It’s great to just have a voice where he’s not talking X’s and O’s with me. He’s talking leadership,” Manning said.

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