When West Virginia University decided to move on from former Director of Athletics Shane Lyons last month, one of the decisions that would be dealt under the new Athletic Director was the handling of head football coach Neal Brown.
Brown faced a lot of scrutiny this season, going 5-7 and not qualifying for a bowl game. In four seasons, Brown is 22-25, and the Mountaineers are just one of two Big 12 teams who did not make a bowl game this year.
When new Director of Athletics Wren Baker was introduced Monday, he said he is going to continue to support Brown, while also making an assessment of the status of the football program going forward.
“We’ve had several conversations,” Baker said of Brown’s situation. “I look forward to getting here and work with Coach Brown and doing a thorough assessment of the program so we can determine what do we need, where are our gaps, what hurdles can I eliminate, what resources do we need to go and procure because the football program is obviously important to the university and the state.”
West Virginia University President E. Gordon Gee was also supportive of Brown. Gee said the Mountaineers played a tough schedule this season, and despite not becoming eligible for a bowl game, they still believe in Brown as the head coach of West Virginia.
“One of the things I started realizing is we really did put [Brown] in a very challenging position because we played two Power Five teams right off the bat,” Gee said. “The recent process came out noting that we had the toughest football schedule in the country. The fact that we’ve gone 5-7 in a very competitive environment is something I take a lot of pride in.”
Brown is 22-25 in his first four seasons at the helm of West Virginia and for his assessment of Brown he will try and build relationships with people around the football program and then develop a better sense of the state of the program.
“I think you get in and build a relationship and work everyday in the trenches. I think having coached, there’s not very many AD’s left that’s had any kind of coaching experience — I think that helps me,” Baker said. “I think I understand how coaches think a little bit, understand how to communicate with them, understand when they need to feel support, that there’s a time and place to have conversations. I look forward to getting in and really working Coach Brown and learning everything I can about the football program and I’m confident we can together we can figure out where we need to go.”
Gee, who has a standing relationship with Brown said the Mountaineers had a tough conference schedule, and even though they did not finish well he was still happy with the 5-7 result. West Virginia was one of two schools who played 11 power five opponents, and some rankings had them with the second toughest schedule in the country.
“In the end, we did talk with [Baker], but he had already indicated his willingness to continue to work and enthusiasm about working with coach (Brown) and that was very important to me,” Gee said. “One of the things I want to say about Coach Brown in addition to everything else, is that few people have connected more clearly with West Virginia and with West Virginians than has Neal Brown. He came and embraced us and this is a moment in which we’re going to embrace each other now.”
