Sunday Morning Thoughts: Should He Stay or Should He Go?

It may not have been the prettiest of all wins, but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter how you get to the result as long as it's the one you want. Neal Brown got exactly what he wanted from his team on Saturday afternoon in Stillwater by defeating Oklahoma State 24-19, ending a seven-game losing streak to the Cowboys, and finishing the season the right way.

"Streak busters today," said Brown in his postgame press conference. "That was kind of the motivation this week, so we talked about really two things and that's finishing and finishing well says a lot about who you are collectively, but more importantly it speaks more to who you are as a man. And every time you have an opportunity to suit up and play, it's part of your resume and you should never waste one of those. Our guys definitely didn't today. I thought we played extremely hard. Played physical."

His team played with maximum effort from start to finish in a game that essentially had no meaning other than to send the seniors out with a victory. Not to mention, the weather was horrendous to say the least, but that didn't matter. This team didn't give up on its seniors or its coaches and that speaks volumes.

Now, to the question that must be asked. Did Neal Brown just save his job?

To be honest with you, I don't think the result of the Oklahoma State game, in the grand scheme of things, is going to be what ultimately determines his future. Once the new athletic director is hired, he/she will take a 50,000-foot view of the program and make a decision based off the previous four years and where the team appears to be headed.

Neal's likability, passion for the program, the state, and his players could be enough to convince the new AD that he's the right man for the job. Even if it's for a year. On top of that, the new AD may not have ample time to run an extensive coaching search to replace Brown, which could lead to giving him at least one more year to prove himself.

In my opinion, I still believe it makes more sense for West Virginia to move on although it may not be what actually happens.

The fact of the matter is, you're going to have other schools trying to snag your best players away and they'll be able to use the coaching staff's job security or lack thereof in their pitch. Not only will they do that to sway current Mountaineers off the roster but also when WVU competes for players in the portal. How are you going to convince a top defensive back or defensive end transfer with multiple years of eligibility remaining that WVU is where he should finish his career? How are you going to convince a 17-year-old kid that by the time he graduates and enrolls in college that Brown and this staff will be in Morgantown a year or two from now? That's a tough sell.

Again, it all comes back to whether or not the new athletic director is hired relatively soon. If a hire is not announced for another, say, three weeks? Yeah, I don't know who you're going to get at that point that is going to be able to do anything more substantial than Neal. No, Hugh Freeze isn't coming to Morgantown and Deion Sanders was never coming. Those are just a couple of names that have been floated out there by a couple of fans with no actual insight as to what is going on. If you believe Rich Rodriguez and Jimbo Fisher have the same "odds" as Neal Brown to be WVU's coach in 2023, well, then I'd like to know who is taking wagers.

Why hire a G5 coach to make the jump to Power Five when you already have one running the program? It's very unlikely that WVU will be able to hire a proven P5 coach that late after the season.

I'm not sure what the answer is and I don't believe WVU knows what the answer is (at this moment). My guess is they will stick to their word and hire an AD, let he/she make an evaluation of the situation and go from there. I don't believe it's a guarantee that Neal Brown will be fired, especially when the person who should be making that decision is not under contract (yet).

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