Neal Brown's return to West Virginia was one of those things that, until now, went without saying, given that: A) WVU massively over-performed preseason expectations, and B) It's Dec. 1 and the school hasn't announced a change.
But, when asked by WV MetroNews on Friday, AD Wren Baker went ahead and said it anyway. Neal Brown will be West Virginia's coach in 2024.
“I have never said anything to speculate differently. I know other people speculate but Coach Brown is going to be our football coach. We are excited about what the future holds and we’re excited about building on what was a really good year,” Baker told the site.
West Virginia was picked to finish last in the 14-team Big 12, and instead tied for fourth.
“I was very pleased with the way the team performed and the way our coaches and staff performed. I thought they did a really good job. You are picked 14th [in the Big 12 preseason media poll]. I think the over/under on the win total was 4, 4-and-a-half, something like that. To finish fourth and double that win total and still have a chance to win a game in the bowl, I think our coaches did a really good job.”
WVU went 6-3 in conference play and 8-4 overall. The Mountaineers will learn their bowl destination on Sunday.
The eight wins are the most in Brown's five seasons on the job.
While 8-4 is undoubtedly a good season, Baker is not in a rush to extend Brown's contract, either.
“He still has three years left, which I think is a good amount of time. It is not like you are down to a year or two," Baker said. "Three is still a fairly significant amount of time. More than the years, what speaks to stability is the guaranteed portion of the contract. The years aren’t as important as how much you have involved in if you were to make a change."
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.