Sunday Morning Thoughts: Why Wait?

After spending all day in the sun and having a few drinks on the beach in Grenada, I decided to head inside to turn the West Virginia game on. I know, bad idea. I was a little worried about getting sunburnt, but to be completely honest, it may have been better than watching whatever transpired in Ames on Saturday.

That was just bad football. It wasn't even all that pretty on Iowa State's side of things either. I felt as if I was in the middle of watching one of those Thursday Night clunkers that the NFL has been putting out on a near weekly basis. Boring, bad, sloppy football.

Then, in the fourth quarter, Iowa State woke up and started making plays while West Virginia didn't. That was the difference; the fourth quarter where the Mountaineers were outscored 21-7, ultimately dropping them to 3-6 on the season and 1-5 in Big 12 play.

I'm going to be flat out honest, there hasn't been one ounce of meaningful football played since Neal Brown took over the program in 2019. Losing in blowout fashion to a team that entered the day 0-5 in conference play, in year four, is about as low as it can possibly get. Injuries, transfers, guys leaving early - that happens everywhere. There's no valid excuse that AD Shane Lyons can accept.

I know some folks want to bring up NIL being a big issue. I don't disagree but let's not act like Kansas State, Illinois, TCU, Wake Forest, and Syracuse are spending big bucks. Those programs are in a similar or perhaps even worse situation, yet they're winning games and are in the top 25.

So, what's the difference? Coaching.

The same issues that plagued the team in year one are still popping up in year four. Timely penalties, the inability to make plays in big moments, poor clock management, poor timeout usage, etc.

At this point in time, you just have to bite the $20 million bullet and move into a new chapter of WVU Football. This isn't going anywhere. It hasn't in the four years that Brown has been the head coach of the Mountaineers, so what exactly are the fans supposed to be trusting? Why wait to let the buyout drop a few million bucks before making the decision?

And yes, WVU can attract a good coach. I don't want to hear that they can't get anything better. You mean to tell me Kansas was an attractive job? It may not have been Lance Leipold's top choice but look at what he's done there in just under two years. There are only 65 Power Five head coaching jobs out there. Someone is going to want this job and there are more than a few candidates that would do well here if given the opportunity.

Neal Brown - a terrific family man who instilled a family-like atmosphere and said and did all the right things along the way. The only problem is he hasn't won. In a results-oriented business, no one cares if you're the nice guy. You need to produce results and Brown has not done so.

Making the move now gives this team the feeling of a fresh start. You wipe the slate clean and try to win three straight to become bowl eligible under a new voice overseeing the whole operation.

Again, why wait?

You can follow us for future coverage by liking us on Facebook & following us Twitter:

Facebook - @MountaineersNow

Twitter - @MountaineersNow and Schuyler Callihan at @Callihan_.

Add us as a preferred source on Google