West Virginia is set to fire sixth-year coach Neal Brown, the school announced on Sunday. Brown’s ouster comes on the heels of a devastating 52-15 loss at Texas Tech to drop the Mountaineers to 6-6 on the season and Brown to 37-35 overall in Morgantown.
Ultimately, Brown’s undoing was a product of that mediocrity; his teams were rarely outright bad, but they were even more rarely able to punch up. The Mountaineers always won at least three Big 12 games and reached a bowl game in four of his final five seasons, but West Virginia posted more than six wins only once over that stretch. West Virginia joins Texas Tech and Rutgers as the only teams in the Power Four to not reach the AP Top 25 at any point since 2019.
“Coach Brown is a great person, and he has served as a tremendous ambassador for West Virginia University,” athletic director Wren Baker said in a statement. “He led our storied program with class and integrity and always put in the hard work necessary to allow for success. We are grateful to Neal, his wife, Brooke, and their children for their contributions to our University, community and state, and we wish them the very best in their next endeavor.”
Against Texas Tech, the wheels finally flew off for the Mountaineers. The Red Raiders took a 35-3 lead in the first half and cleared 569 total yards, including 188 yards and three touchdowns on the ground from star running back Tahj Brooks. It was the third loss of five touchdowns or more in the past three seasons.
Brown attempted to stem the bleeding earlier this season by firing defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley, who had been with Brown since his Troy days. However, the Mountaineers still went 2-2 post-Lesley and surrendered an average of 36.5 points per game.
“We will keep our focus on the incredible young men in our program and preparing for our bowl game,” Baker added. “Our national search for WVU’s 36th head football coach is already underway. I am confident that with the strong alignment among the University leadership, our passionate supporters, our proud history and our willingness to invest, we will have an outstanding pool of candidates.”
2024-25 FBS Coaching Carousel
| School | New coach | Previous Coach | Conference | Expected Salary Range |
| Ball State | Mike Neu (fired) | Mid-American | ~600,000 | |
| Central Michigan | Jim McElwain (fired) | Mid-American | ~$1 million | |
| Charlotte | Biff Poggi (fired) | American Athletic | $1 million | |
| East Carolina | Blake Harrell (was interim) | Mike Houston (fired) | American Athletic | $2-3 million |
| Florida Atlantic | Tom Herman (fired) | American Athletic | $1 million | |
| Florida International | Mike MacIntyre | Conference USA | $700,000 | |
| Fresno State | Jeff Tedford (resigned) | Mountain West | $1-2 million | |
| Kennesaw State | Brian Bohannon (fired) | Conference USA | ~$500,000 | |
| North Carolina | Mack Brown (fired) | Atlantic Coast | $5 million | |
| Purdue | Ryan Walters (fired) | Big Ten | $4 million | |
| Rice | Scott Abell (Davidson) | Mike Bloomgren (fired) | American Athletic | $1 million |
| Sam Houston | K.C. Keeler (left for Temple) | |||
| Southern Miss | Will Hall (fired) | Sun Belt | <$1 million | |
| Temple | K.C. Keeler (Sam Houston) | Stan Drayton (fired) | American Athletic | $1-2 million |
| Tulsa | Kevin Wilson (fired) | American Athletic | <$2 million | |
| UCF | Gus Malzahn (resigned) | Big 12 | $4 million | |
| UMass | Don Brown (fired) | Independent | <$1 million | |
| Utah State | Blake Anderson (fired) | Mountain West | $1-2 million | |
| West Virginia | Neal Brown (fired) | Big 12 | $3 million |
Ultimately, Brown’s inability to punch up proved to be his greatest shortcoming with the Mountaineers. West Virginia lost 10 straight games against ranked opponents, including losses against No. 8 Penn State, No. 11 Iowa State and No. 17 Kansas State in 2024 that all came by an average of 20.3 points per game.
Brown agreed to a contract extension over the offseason that kept him in Morgantown through 2027. However, the extension actually decreased his salary while adding a year to the contract. The cost to fire him after the 2024 season should move below $10 million.
West Virginia has not fired a coach since Bill Stewart in 2010, which came after Dana Holgorsen was named “coach-in-waiting” for the program. Holgorsen, however, reached seven winning seasons across his eight campaigns leading the program. Brown fielded winning teams only twice.