Wren Baker Talks Neal Brown Firing + Start of WVU Coaching Search

The West Virginia AD offers some insight on the coaching change in the football program.

West Virginia University Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker. / Christopher Hall

Tuesday afternoon, West Virginia Director of Athletics Wren Baker met with the media to discuss the decision to fire head football coach Neal Brown along with the start of the search process.

When the decision was made to fire Neal Brown

“Saturday night into Sunday. I know there are people who will say, well, he had to know before then. No, I think it’s important you keep your mind open and let every data point arrive. It was really when I got back and had some time Saturday and into Sunday to really look holistically at where we were at with our program and what I thought put us in the best position moving forward.”

If the next coach has to have head coaching experience

“I do value head coaching experience. Every person who sits in these chairs has their own path and the way that you see things. I was a head coach in basketball for a short period of time, and I know the transition that I had to make when I was in that chair and I knew how much I grew in that year and the things I was ready for, and the things that I wasn’t. I think what’s different in football is when you have somebody who’s been a coordinator, they really kind of are the head coach for their side of the ball. I think it’s really important to dig in on whatever side they weren’t involved in, what’s their plan, what’s their knowledge, what’s their experience, how they envision it fitting together. Head coaching experience, if there’s a tie, that’s important. But in football, I probably view it a little differently than basketball.”

If there was any thought to letting Neal Brown coach the bowl game

“It didn’t come up. I think I would have been open to it, but once you’re at the end like this, it’s probably more emotionally draining on everybody to do that. I did ask for his opinion on interim leadership, and he thought Coach (Chad) Scott would be great.”

How many calls he’s already made

“A lot. I mean, it would be way into the dozens probably hundreds by the time we’re done that I make and take. Right now you return one call and there’s five more messages waiting.”

If assistants will be kept on or terminated

“What I told everybody is that one, we’re going to treat people the way we’d want to be treated…with class. We’re not just going to throw anybody out all of a sudden. There’s different kinds of contracts and lengths on those contracts. My ask of our staff is do what’s right for our program and our kids as long as you’re an employee here, and I’ll do right by you. I was very honest about that. I think we’re going to have a good signing day tomorrow, and that took a bunch of people reaching out to kids and their families, assuring them that this program is in a good place and that we’re all working together. In terms of beyond the bowl game, we have some really talented people here. They may be getting chances to interview, and I ask them, as long as you’re employed by us, you come in and do the best job by WVU and our kids, and you keep us updated on other opportunities.”

How attractive the job is

“It’s an attractive job because one, because of the fans. People know the passion of our fans, and that’s really important. That was important when I came here. You want to be somewhere where it matters to people. And then I think when you look at the Big 12, everybody knows it’s wide-open. Being a geographical outlier has some disadvantages, but it also has some advantages. You’re not stuck recruiting the same kids, and you have a little different something to sell. What I’ve heard from people is they know that this is a rich history program. They know that the Big 12 is wide open. And they know that the fan support is great here. There’s enough here to be highly successful.”

The disappointment of the 2024 season

“I think Coach Brown and I would both say every time it felt like there was a chance to get some momentum, we just couldn’t get there. We didn’t play as well as we thought we should and could in that opener against Penn State. That Pitt loss, certainly, that hurt. We had a couple opportunities to get it back, a couple big opportunities here at home, weren’t able to seize those.”

If the next coach has to have a WVU or West Virginia tie

“I think my job is to find the best candidate for the job. If the best candidate has WVU ties, great. If they’ve lived or been or worked in West Virginia, great. If they’re not the best candidate, that’s still the wrong decision. I’ve said this before: I think what’s really important here is that you hire somebody that has a heart and a desire to embrace West Virginia because it is important to people here.”

Other notes

- Baker says WVU will use Parker Executive Search to assist in the search for the next football coach.

- Baker says WVU is close to full revenue share.

- The search is expected to be quick, but not rushed. Baker mentioned that it took "a week or so" before landing on Darian DeVries for men's basketball job.

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