Four Reasons Why Neal Brown is Returning in 2023
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It's fair to say that the first four years of Neal Brown's tenure at West Virginia have been underwhelming, to say the least. Three of those four seasons ended with a losing record with the only winning season coming in a COVID-shortened year where they played just ten games.
Despite the lack of success or progress, I should say, Brown has been told that he will remain as the school's head football coach in 2023. Is it the right decision? Yes and no. I'm skeptical that Brown will be able to usher a turnaround, but I completely understand why they decided to retain him.
Timing
Had the university moved on from Shane Lyons earlier, Baker would have had more of an opportunity to run through an extensive coaching search. At this point in the game, it's too late. Timelines have shifted in college football and with the transfer portal window set to open, players need to know who their coach is going to be. Had Baker made the decision to move on from Brown, there would have been a mass exodus of players heading to the portal and recruits de-committing from the program.
Cost
Brown's large buyout isn't the only thing you would have to pay. Many, if not all of the assistants will have followed Brown out the door, meaning more money has to be paid out. On top of that, you're going to have a whole new coaching staff to pay for and oh yeah, there still needs to be some money laying around to retain your top talent who may be in search of NIL deals.
Evaluation period
President Gee said that the new AD, once hired, will do a full evaluation of the football program before any changes are made. In my opinion, to do a full and fair evaluation, you have to be a part of it. If not, you're just making a blind decision based on numbers on a piece of paper. Had Baker been on the job for the entire season, then yeah, Brown may have been on his way out. This also gives Baker, a guy with no West Virginia or WVU ties, time to fully educate himself on the program and the university to get an idea of who would truly be a good fit if a coaching change were to be made.
Resources
From what I gathered from Shane Lyons' interview with Metro News earlier in the week, it seems like the administration felt as if they weren't doing enough with NIL, which built frustration when key players entered the portal and ultimately left the program. As I mentioned a couple of weeks back on Between The Eers, it is very possible that Neal Brown had his hands tied, giving him no real chance to win in the transfer portal. Wren Baker has a background in fundraising and giving Neal Brown an AD to work with that has a strong resume in such could be what helps the program actually turn the corner.
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