Area304+: Steve Slaton Gives Take on WVU Extending Neal Brown

A couple of weeks ago, WVU athletic director Shane Lyons announced that head football coach Neal Brown has agreed to a contract extension that will keep him in Morgantown through the 2026 season.

During the first two years of his stint as the head Mountaineer, Brown is 11-11 with a bowl win over Army in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. After losing so much offensive production from that 2018 team, not many thought West Virginia would have any success in 2019. It was an expected rebuild year and that's what happened. The Mountaineers went 5-7 but finished 2-1 in their final three games including a win over a ranked Kansas State team on the road.

This past season, the Mountaineers took a big step and finished with a 6-4 record. Three of their four losses were games they had a chance to win in the 4th quarter but just didn't have things go their way. The 42-6 loss to Iowa State at the end of the regular season was the only game on the 2020 slate where they were beaten soundly. However, they followed that up by ending the season on a high note winning their bowl game.

Brown has done a tremendous job of establishing a foundation, setting the vision, and getting his players to buy in. Yes, the transfer portal numbers look high but some of those guys were not recruited by Brown and most of them were not expecting to have a big role on the team anytime soon. The portal is hitting everyone hard nowadays, not just WVU.

Extending a head coach that's just 11-11 in his first two seasons may seem like a gamble but that's not how former West Virginia running back Steve Slaton sees it. In fact, he told Mountaineer Maven that this was the right move to take care of it now.

"I think it’s a smart decision. The coach has been trying to improve the areas of weakness with every season. Having the security to know he is around and pick the right coaches and players to further improve. West Virginia will be brought back to a winning culture."

Slaton also said that he has been impressed with how Brown has built the program and how he and his staff have gone to great lengths to help prepare them for life after football. The 5th Quarter Program was put in place to help character development, leadership development, real-life, career development, and social responsibility. Brown and WVU Football also partnered with branding extraordinaire Jeremy Darlow, to help the student-athletes build their own brand.

Heading into year three of Neal Brown's tenure at West Virginia things appear to be trending in the right direction. Can he get the Mountaineers back on the national map? Time will tell.

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