WVU HC Neal Brown Advocates for Helmet Communication, Calling Sidelines ‘Clown Shows’

On the heels of a season tainted with controversy surrounding sign stealing, WVU head coach Neal Brown was asked about a connected topic by Andy Staples of On3.com he brought up months ago. And like he did at that time, Brown made his feelings pretty clear.

“If you look at our college sidelines, they look like clown shows right now. Different colored shirts, a bunch of people. We need to clean that up,” said Brown, furthering his point that coaches and players should be able to use technology inside helmets to communicate with each other during games.

West Virginia HC Neal Brown is a BIG advocate for helmet communication in CFB🗣️

"If you look at our college sidelines, they look like clown shows right now. Different colored shirts, a bunch of people… We need to clean that up."

(via @Andy_Staples) https://t.co/NAZYWln3XK pic.twitter.com/kJytAbptsF

— On3 (@On3sports) February 22, 2024

Back in October, Brown did not hold back, saying “it’s asinine” that college football does not allow technology to be used in helmets like in the NFL so coaches and players can communicate.

Neal Brown Offers Strong Take About Possibility of Helmet Technology in College Football

While not exactly mentioning Michigan or Jim Harbaugh by name, Brown did elaborate. “It makes no sense that we don’t have helmet communication. With all the money we have in college football, it’s one of the more asinine things that we don’t have it. 100 percent we should use it,” he said.

The allegations levied against Michigan sparked a debate about what should be allowed, especially in comparison to what is allowed and has been happening in the NFL. Teams and players across all sports have been trying to steal signs throughout the history of sports, but it’s the way Michigan is accused of going by it that led to the investigation and the possibility of future penalties or sanctions.

Regardless of what’s allowed, Brown and his Mountaineers will try to build off their success in 2023 in 2024 and beyond.