Neal Brown Makes Big Jump in Big 12 Head Coach Rankings

WVU football appears to be in good hands with Neal Brown.

Christopher Hall

What a difference a year makes. This time last year, everyone around college football began compiling a list of candidates to replace Neal Brown as the head coach at West Virginia with the expectation that the Mountaineers would fall short of expectations yet again.

Instead, WVU finally turned the corner under Brown and had a top five finish in the Big 12, securing the best season the program has had since 2016. This offseason, Brown received a contract extension and added several pieces through the transfer portal to put this team in contention for a conference title in 2024.

Along with being picked to finish last in the Big 12 a year ago, Brown was also ranked the worst head coach in the league by CBS Sports' David Cobb. Heading into 2024, he's ranked ninth.

"Brown is up 17 spots in the national rankings and five in the league after a 9-4 (6-3) season that was highlighted by a Duke's Mayo Bowl win over North Carolina. Posting the program's highest win total since 2016 got Brown off the hot seat (for now) as he enters Year 6 on the job."

Cobb's Big 12 head coach rankings:

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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