West Virginia University football coach Neil Brown told reporters during a recent press conference. (Photo credit: BlueGoldNews.com)
MORGANTOWN, WV — Let’s talk.
It’s that time. We’ve been trying to avoid it as much as possible, but this Neil Brown situation is only going to get crazier.
Should he stay or leave?
It’s a difficult proposition because that’s the conclusion of the conversation and there are merits on both sides.
You see, there is no way to determine who is right and who is wrong.
It’s like an analytical equation that we see for everything in sports right now. This team has a 60% chance of winning this match.
What the hell does that mean? More importantly, what is the point?
Once you score your first touchdown, that changes to 75%. 40% if you give up the first touchdown.
The idea is to play the game.
It was the same with Brown. He didn’t do anything special to secure the job, and he didn’t do anything to get fired for it.
It depends on when you see it. It certainly seemed like his future was uncertain after 2022.
Then in 2023, they won nine games and one bowl, going 6-3 in the Big 12, but to be honest, they lost a game or two that they could have won, so they won 10 games, maybe even a bowl. I couldn’t win 11 games.
And it was the Big 12 Conference, with a Texas team that was emerging as a national championship contender and an Oklahoma team that was on the decline but made history.
Instead of being asked to leave, he was granted extra time.
And worth it…but.
He had to play this year, but there was so much hype that a 10-win season was suddenly expected.
But ever since Neil Brown has been here, his teams have looked like they can beat the teams they should beat and lose the teams they shouldn’t beat.
He started the year with losses to Penn State and the University of Pittsburgh. He seemed to have a lot of momentum in that start, but for some reason the Big 12 wasn’t a very good conference and it turned out there were teams there that he could beat, and he did win some games. .
If he had found a way to win at home in front of his fans, he might not have been under the same pressure that came with the billboard calling for WVU to fire him and asking fans to put brown paper bags over their heads. But most of the victors were only halfway through their efforts.
A month ago, with a 3-4 record, it seemed like the end was in sight. Look now. He’s won three of his last four games, and the game at Texas Tech is probably a game where the winning percentage is…who knows.
How should we view Neil Brown? In the modern era of WVU football, his six-year tenure equates to a 37-34 record and a .521 winning percentage.
Don Nehlen hit .686, Rich Rodriguez hit .676, Dana Holgorsen hit .597, and Bill Stewart was fired after hitting .700 in three years. You can imagine that.
Brown’s conference record is 25-27, falling short of Dana Holgorsen’s record in the Big 12 League, where he was hired to be more competitive. Holgorsen had a record of 27 wins and 25 losses.
Brown’s overall record against top 10 teams is 0-6. Their record against AP Top 20 teams is 4 wins and 20 losses.
The sample size is large enough to draw a conclusion, but that conclusion is not appropriate.
But in today’s world, being a coach is about more than just winning. After all, indeed, he built a culture, not a dynasty, which is what is important.
Remember the days when you checked police reports as often as you checked football scores to see how WVU was doing over the weekend? Remember when arrests were commonplace and there were academic casualties?
Players now spend more time visiting sick children at WVU Children’s Hospital than in prison. they finish school. Neil Brown takes good kids and makes them better.
He respected tradition and adopted the nation and what it represented, the school and what it represented, as his own.
If he had won, they would have built a statue and named a street after him.
If they can get rid of Bill Stewart, who was a good guy and had many of the same qualities as Brown, it certainly would make Brown vulnerable.
But we’re at a time in college sports where financial statements are just as important as box scores…and that’s always changing. WVU isn’t sure it can afford to let Brown go, but many fans say they don’t think they can afford to keep him.
There were 40,000 people in the stands on Senior Day — yes, the weather was bad, the opponent was 4-6, and they hadn’t won at home — and there was a statement from the fan base.
It would have been easy if Brown and WVU had lost, but they won. they played well. The changes Brown made at defensive coordinator seemed to stick, with future stars like Josiah Trotter, Hudson Clement, Jahiem White and CJ Donaldson all on the field.
If he happened to win that game at Texas Tech and then the bowl game, he would have a coach who would have gone 17-9 over the past two years and 12-6 in the Big 12 Conference. You’ll probably get fired.
Are they going in the right direction?
The Mountaineers.
Are they where you want them to be, and more importantly, where you want them to be? no.
What happens if I fire him? how much is next “climb” take? How many future stars will leave? How many new stars can the new manager bring in?
Would it cost more to fire a coach who appears to be improving, someone you would want your son to play for, someone who has contributed to your school and state?
Yes, I’ve said enough.
Now, WVU Athletic Director Len Baker has the say, but no matter what I say or what you say, it has no effect on the decisions that inevitably have to be made. do not have.
