Neal Brown Earns National Recognition for Early-Tenure Success at North Texas

After waiting for the right opportunity, Neal Brown jumped at the chance to take over the North Texas program. His decision has paid off so far, too. Brown has the Mean Green rolling along as one of the top Group of 6 schools in the country.

Brown is now being recognized nationally for what he’s already accomplished in his first season. The former West Virginia head coach is among those on the most updated watch list for the 2026 George Munger Award, presented annually by the Maxwell Football Club to the nation’s top collegiate Coach of the Year.

Jahiem White, also his featured running back from the end of his WVU tenure, putting up one of the best season’s for his position in the country, Brown has North Texas sitting at 6-2 and undefeated in conference play at 4-0.

Following 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.

West Virginia head coach Neal Brown walks on field during the 2023 season. (WVSN photo by Kelsie LeRose)

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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 only three bowl game appearances. The high point of Brown’s tenure was a nine-win 2023 season that finished with a victory in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl over North Carolina.

Following a year on the Texas staff as an assistant to Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian, Brown accepted an offer from the Mean Green to return to the sidelines in December.

West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Neal Brown calls a timeout during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Morgantown, W.Va. (WVSN photo by William Wotring)

Before he ended up at North Texas, WV Sports Now heard through multiple sources close to Brown that he would only take a lower level job if he felt the situation was perfect, both in location and program.

Brown turned down a couple head coach offers from Group of 5 level programs in the offseason of his dismal by WVU and was later in rumors to be the offensive coordinator at Ohio State and Virginia Tech, although WV Sports Now can confirm through a source the Virginia Tech rumors were wildly exaggerated.

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