What a difference a year can make. This time last year, everyone who followed college football began compiling a list of candidates to replace Neal Brown as head coach at West Virginia, expecting the Mountaineers to once again fall short of expectations.
Instead, under Brown, WVU finally turned things around and finished in the top five in the Big 12, marking the program’s best season since 2016. In the offseason, Brown received a contract extension and signed several players through the transfer portal to put the team in position to compete for the conference title in 2024.
In addition to being ranked last in the Big 12 last year, Brown was also rated the worst head coach in the league by David Cobb of CBS Sports, ranking ninth in 2024.
“Brown has moved up 17 spots in the national rankings and five in the league after a 9-4 (6-3) season that culminated in Duke’s Mayo Bowl victory over North Carolina. With the program’s highest win total since 2016, Brown is out of the firing line (for now) as he enters his sixth year on the job.”
Cobb’s rankings as Big 12 head coach:
1. Kyle Whittingham (Utah)
2. Lance Leipold (Kansas)
3. Chris Klieman (Kansas State)
4. Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State)
5. Sonny Dykes (TCU)
6. Matt Campbell (Iowa State)
7. Willie Fritz (Houston)
8. Gus Malzahn (UCF)
9. Neal Brown (West Virginia)
10. Joey McGuire (Texas Tech)
11. Kalani Sitake (BYU)
12. Dave Aranda (Baylor)
13. Brent Brennan (Arizona)
14. Scott Satterfield (Cincinnati)
15. Deion Sanders (Colorado)
16. Kenny Dillingham (Arizona State)
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