2 weeks Ago
From old Big-12 foes on opposite sidelines, to now being friends and working on the same sideline. Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian added former West Virginia head coach Neal Brown to his coaching staff this offseason and the hiring is seemingly already paying dividends. During his Monday press conference, Sarkisian spoke about Brown's addition to the staff and what he and the Longhorns have gained from the former Mountaineers head coach.
“Neal has been an awesome addition,” Sarkisian said. “When you can have an extra set of head coach eyes, it’s always helpful because they’re always looking for the things that, from a head coach’s perspective, are important to you. You can’t see it all the time, and he’s done a great job with that.
” The 45-year-old was fired by West Virginia this offseason after six years in Morgantown in which his final season saw the Mountaineers finish with a 6-6 record. It was the fourth season in which Brown was unable to guide West Virginia to more than six wins. The Mountaineers only recorded more than six wins in a season once under Brown, which saw him lead them to a 9-4 record in 2023.
Now as Brown gets use to life again not as a head coach he is in Austin, where he was reunited with his West Virginia running backs coach Chad Scott. The pair joined Texas's staff this offseason, with Scott taking the same role in Austin, while Brown's job title is "assistant to the head coach." While Brown is not tied to just one specific position that he helps coaches.
Texas quarterback Arch Manning revealed that the former West Virginia coach has held conversations with him about leadership. “Coach Neal Brown has been doing a really good job with me, just trying to be a better leader,” Manning said. Brown adds to the offensive expertise that the Longhorns have on staff.
But not just the offense as a whole, he is also another former quarterback coach. The 45-year-old's second college coaching job saw him coaching quarterbacks and receivers at Sacred Heart. That would be the first of three coaching jobs where Brown held the title of quarterback coach in his career.
The presence of Brown on staff continues a trend under Sarkisian, where the Longhorns have added former head coaches to the coaching staff in off-field roles. Both Gary Patterson and Paul Chryst spent time in Austin after their stints as a head coach ended. “He’s done a great job working with the offense and learning our offense, but at the same time, we’re getting things from him schematically, from a practice standpoint, and especially from a leadership standpoint,” Sarkisian said about Brown.
“He’s been around it. He’s done it at a high level. I’ve got a ton of respect for Neal.
That’s why he’s here.”.
