Breaking: Neal Brown to Return as West Virginia Head Coach

The speculation is now over. Neal Brown will be back as head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers next season.

WVU director of athletics Wren Baker confirmed this news to WV MetroNews’ Hoppy Kercheval Friday morning on his Talkline show.

“Coach Brown is going to be our football coach and we’re excited about what the future holds,” Baker said on the show.

Speculation over. And as many of us have been saying (even if people didn’t want to listen), Neal Brown will be back as head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers next season. WVU AD Wren Baker confirmed this to @HoppyKercheval this morning.

— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) December 1, 2023

This comes just days after Brown talked to Kercheval about his future and publicly stated that he expected to return.

“My family and I enjoy our time at West Virginia. We want to see this through,” said Brown.

Brown entered the 2023 season under tons of scrutiny and with most expecting another losing season, but West Virginia was able to be one of the surprise teams of the year and finish with an 8-4 (6-3) record in the regular season. The 43-year-old coach will lead WVU in a bowl game for the third time to close the year.

Asti: What Does WVU Football’s 2023 Season Really Mean?

Even though the 8-4 season made most close to the program feel Brown would be granted at least one more season in Morgantown, many were still unsure if Baker would look to turn the page due to the results of his overall tenure. In five years, Brown holds a 30-29 (20-24) record and endured a 5-7 campaign in 2022.

Since it is now relevant again, go back and watch Baker explain to WVSN’s Mike Asti how he planned to evaluate Brown on a show soon after he was hired.

Asti also talked to Brown himself on a show prior to the season where he opened up about how he viewed his tenure to that point and what he regrets.