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Is Neal Brown on Verge of Landing OC Job at Ohio State?

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WVU Football HC Neal Brown
Cody Nespor / WVSN

It’s possible former WVU head coach Neal Brown may be on the verge of landing his next job, and it would be a big one. Rumors are circulating, including from credible places like 247 Sports, that Brown is a candidate to become Ohio State’s next offensive coordinator.

The Silver Bulletin also reported that Brown is an actual candidate.

The job with the Buckeyes became open when Chip Kelly decided to leave college football to take the same role with the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders. Brown, who was fired by West Virginia on Dec. 1, served as an offensive coordinator at Troy, Texas Tech and Kentucky before gaining his first head coaching opportunity in a return to Troy in 2015.

After success at Troy, which included three-straight 10 plus-win seasons and a staple victory over LSU, WVU hired Brown to be the program’s 35 the head coach in 2019.

Unfortunately for Brown, he was never able to achieve anything close to that with West Virginia. The Mountaineers went 37-35 in six seasons under Brown with three bowl game appearances. The high point of Brownโ€™s tenure was a nine-win 2023 season that finished with a victory in the Dukeโ€™s Mayo Bowl over North Carolina.

WVU head coach Neal Brown after beating UNC in the Duke's Mayo Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. on Dec. 27, 2023. (Mitchell Northam / WV Sports Now)

WVU head coach Neal Brown after beating UNC in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. on Dec. 27, 2023. (Mitchell Northam / WV Sports Now)

Upon his WVU exit, Brown was linked to Group of 5 head coaching jobs at Appalachian State and Charlotte. Brown turned down both opportunities.

While some may feel being a coordinator is a step down for someone who was just a head coach at Power Four school, serving as an offensive coordinator at a blue blood like Ohio State could do wonders to boost Brown’s value for a future opening.

โ€œI want to coach, I think there are a lot of positives from a personal perspective and professionally,โ€ Brown said about his future on Dec. 6. โ€œAnd there are some really good jobs open. There are jobs that are resourced well in leagues that you can go win. My anticipation is that I will (be a head coach) but time will tell.โ€

So it’s possible Brown could go from West Virginia to the national champions and finally experience winning at a high level.

Find more coverage of Neal Brown at WV Sports Now.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. jackson five

    February 3, 2025 at 3:47 pm

    i wish him all the best,, despite his hard time at wvu, thiswill be a feather in his hat if he gets selected as the OC at OSU… some coaches are better off being assistants than head coaches,,, good luck Neal.

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