Report: Neal Brown Talking to Appalachian State About Being Their Head Coach

A day after reports surfaced indicating Neal Brown passed on the Charlotte job, the former WVU head coach is now being tired to another school. It’s possible Brown could remain a Mountaineer after all, as several sources tell Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports that Appalachian State has had “several discussions” with Brown about taking over as their head coach.

Appalachian State fired Shawn Clark after going 5-6 in 2024 and holding a 39-24 overall record while going 2-1 in bowl game appearances in five years.

Appalachian State has had multiple discussions with former West Virginia coach Neal Brown about its open head coaching job, per industry sources.

— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) December 5, 2024

Charlotte and Appalachian State were one of several jobs Brown was linked to soon after WVU fired him on Sunday.

Another program Brown will also not be coaching is his alma mater, UMass. Rutger defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak reportedly took the job Tuesday morning.

Brown was linked to the Minutmen’s job due to his past connection with the university, having played and graduated from there in 2002. No concrete report of interest on either side ever actually emerged, however.

According to Football Scoop and other sources, a few options are already lining up for Brown, the 44-year-old Kentucky native. Football Scoop is reporting that Brown is the “central figure” of Appalachian State’s search.

When Brown arrived in West Virginia in 2019, he was thought of as a young coach on the rise. He had just wrapped up a successful tenure at Troy, one highlighted by getting the Trojans ranked by the Associated Press, something he would never accomplish at WVU.

The Neal Brown era for West Virginia concluded with a 37-35 overall record and two bowl wins. Brown’s struggles against ranked opponents and failures in big games embodied the darkest six-year period for the program since before Don Nehlen took over in 1980.

For a related story, Wren Baker details when he decided to fire Neal Brown.