Sunday Morning Thoughts: Trouble Brewing in Morgantown

West Virginia's loss to Kansas spells trouble for Neal Brown.

Rebuilding a college football program takes time. No one expects it to happen overnight, especially at a school that typically doesn't land four and five-star recruits on an annual basis. There's being patient and then there's being too patient. For three-plus years now, WVU head football coach Neal Brown has preached patience with the fanbase with his "Trust the Climb" slogan. It was a pretty cool saying that quickly wore off.

There's no question that Brown walked into a tough situation in 2019 with the roster he was left with, the transfer portal and NIL becoming a thing, and oh yeah, the pandemic. The problem is everyone has had to deal with those sorts of things. Hell, Chris Klieman was hired at Kansas State in 2019 and has his program trending in the right direction. He's won eight games twice in his first three seasons and is already out to a 2-0 start this year. Meanwhile, Neal Brown had two losing seasons in his first three years and is now 0-2. Talk about two similar programs heading in completely opposite directions. 

In year one, you have all the excuses as to why your record is the way it is. It's not fully my team, we're still building the culture, buy-in factor, depth issues, and so on and so forth. It's year four. Excuses are no longer valid. Neal Brown has had plenty of time to get his guys in the program and coach them up. If it's a talent problem, then the staff is whiffing on the recruiting trail. That could be part of it but to me, it's coaching more than a lack of talent. Has the level of talent fallen so far that they're truly a worse team than Kansas? No. You've got third, fourth, and fifth-year guys out there making the same crucial mistakes whether it be not hitting the hole on runs, dropping passes, false starts, roughing the passer, poor angling in pursuit, etc. All of those things are going to happen throughout the course of a football game. It just will. But when those plays occur and how often they occur is what is alarming. WVU had 3rd and 1 inside the five-yard line and had a false start. In overtime, they had Kansas stopped on 3rd down but the drive continued because of a roughing the passer penalty.

It's just always something with this team. And to be honest, I don't know how Neal Brown bounces back from it. I truly don't. Things could get very ugly, very quick for him. If WVU loses on the road to Virginia Tech here in two weeks, whew, good luck is all I have to say. You'll be 1-3 with Texas and Baylor on deck. That's a very real possibility of being 1-5 through the first half of the schedule. WVU typically doesn't fire coaches in-season, but if that happens they have to start thinking about it. You don't have a choice. The administration can't be afraid to make a move because of the astronomical buyout of $20 million. Is it ideal? No. But you have to do what's best for the program and if that's biting the bullet on a $20 million check, then so be it. 

The one thing I always see/hear from WVU fans is "who would they be able to bring in to do any better?" Well, my answer is if it's that bad, anyone. You can't be content with what you have because you're unsure if you can do better. If it gets to that point then obviously the staff you have in place isn't getting the job done. What's the point of continuing with that staff and expecting something different to happen? That's the definition of insanity. 

Neal Brown is a great guy. He really is. But being a great guy and understanding what WVU football means to the people of this state doesn't buy you a pass. At some point, you have to start winning games and that's now. If we're being honest, the odds of WVU making a bowl game look bleak. Having just one winning season in four years is a problem. If that's the results through four seasons, how do you expect the fans, administration, and more importantly, the players to remain bought in on your process?

WVU may not be a blueblood, but this is a winning program that has taken a major step backward. They haven't been competitive since 2018 and that was Dana Holgorsen's last team. That was also the last time WVU appeared in the AP Top 25 rankings. How is that acceptable? I'm not sure. The expectation for this program, in my opinion, should be to win seven or eight games a year and every four years or so, you make your run. That's what Holgorsen did and that's what Brown has failed to do.

I'm not saying WVU should fire him today and they shouldn't. This is a long season and there are ten games left. He can certainly coach his way off the hot seat just like he coached his way onto it. As the season unfolds, we'll see if Brown is really cut out to be the head coach at WVU or not. 

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