3. Neal Brown, West Virginia
Brown took over the Troy heal coaching job as the 33-year-old offensive-minded whiz kid who served as an offensive coordinator at Texas Tech and Kentucky to build up his resumé.
His first Trojan team went 4-8. His second team went 10-3 on the way to a 31-8 run over his last three seasons with a Sun Belt title and three bowl victories.
It was just a question of time before he got the call to take over a big Power Five gig, and West Virginia seemed like a great fit.
Former head coach Dana Holgorsen had established a good tradition for the offensive side, the program had been solid, and it was time for a talented young head man to step in and bring a few new ideas.
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However, it was a rebuilding year for the Mountaineers in 2019, and it showed.
The offensive line was a disaster, the O was the worst in the Big 12, and the defense wasn’t quite strong enough to pick up the slack.
The passing game wasn’t good enough, the team scores 17 points or fewer in six games, and things got ugly after a 3-1 start against the easy part of the schedule.
But through all of the problems and inconsistencies, the team kept on fighting. It might have had a few blowout losses along the way, but it pushed Texas, lost to Baylor in a heartbreaker, and it closed out strong winning two of its last three games – both wins on the road – including a regular-season ender at TCU that kept it out of a bowl game.
This For Real Energy. That 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎 Energy. #TrustTheClimb pic.twitter.com/yV8TVxJMjx
— West Virginia Football (@WVUfootball) February 12, 2020
A losing season wasn’t okay, but in this case, 5-7 just wasn’t all that bad.
Can West Virginia go 10-3 like Brown’s second-year Troy team did?
There’s a whole lot to like with ten starters expected back on offense and eight likely to return on defense.
Beat Florida State in the opener in Atlanta, and the Brown era will take off like a rocket. Lose, and with a very, very winnable stretch of games to start the year – Eastern Kentucky, Maryland, Kansas State, at Texas Tech, TCU – there’s a chance to get a whole lot better right away.
The bar isn’t set at the Big 12 Championship quite yet. However, a nine-win season isn’t crazy, even if the bar is going to be set at just getting to a bowl game.