Neal Brown (born March 11, 1980) is an American football coach and former player who is currently the head football coach at the University of North Texas. He previously served as the head coach at West Virginia University from 2019 to 2024 and Troy University from 2015 to 2018. Brown also previously served as the offensive coordinator at Troy (2008–2009), Texas Tech University (2010–2012), and the University of Kentucky (2013–2014).
Early years Brown attended Boyle County High School in Danville, Kentucky, where he was an all-state wide receiver.
He played football at the University of Kentucky under head coach Hal Mumme and his assistants, Mike Leach and Tony Franklin, before transferring to the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Coaching career
Early coaching career Brown started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at UMass. Before joining Larry Blakeney's staff at Troy to work under Tony Franklin, he spent one-year assistant coaching stints at UMass, Sacred Heart, and Delaware. Following Franklin's departure to Auburn at the end of the 2007 regular season, Brown was promoted to offensive coordinator at Troy. When he was hired, he became the youngest coordinator in all FBS football.
Texas Tech On January 12, 2010, Brown was announced as the offensive coordinator at Texas Tech under new Red Raiders head coach Tommy Tuberville. During the 2010 football season, the Red Raider offense performed well. During his tenure at Texas Tech, Brown perfected his NASCAR spread offense. The offense created by Brown focused on players running to the line immediately after the play and quickly snapping the ball before the defense could get set. The offense requires speed at every position to be run the way Brown envisions it. The focus of the offense was to snap the ball eight seconds after the previous play. The 2010 Red Raiders ranked 15th in the country in total offense, 6th in passing offense, and 72nd in rushing offense.
For his coaching performance during the 2011 41–38 upset victory over the then-ranked #3 Oklahoma Sooners, he was recognized by Rivals.com as National Coordinator of the Week.
Brown was considered for the head coaching job at his alma mater, UMass, following the 2011 season. Brown was also considered for the school's head coaching job when it opened following the 2008 season.
Kentucky On December 9, 2012, it was reported after several weeks of speculation that Brown would return to his home state to coach the offense at Kentucky under new coach Mark Stoops.
Troy Troy announced Brown's hire on Sunday, November 30, 2014. In 2015, Brown's Trojans posted a 4–8 record. Troy was ranked for the first time in the AP top 25 on November 13, 2016, they became the first team from the Sun Belt Conference to be ranked in the Top 25 and finished the year with a record of 10–3. This was Troy's first 10-win season since joining FBS in 2001. Troy capped off the 2016 season by winning the Dollar General Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.
In Brown's third season at the helm in 2017, he led Troy to a 3–1 start to begin the season. In the fifth game of the season on September 30, Troy faced #25-ranked LSU. With Troy leading in the third quarter by a score of 24–7, LSU began to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter by scoring 14 unanswered points and trailing just 24–21 with less than 30 seconds left in the game. LSU began to move the ball down-field before having only eight seconds left on the clock. The very next play became an interception for Troy, which sealed the upset victory. The win over LSU snapped the Tigers' 46-game non-conference home winning streak, which was the longest such streak in the country at the time. The Trojans became Sun Belt co-champions after defeating Arkansas State in a thriller, 32–25. Troy's 11–2 overall record is the program's best regular season finish since joining the FBS in 2001.
West Virginia Brown was announced as the 35th head football coach for West Virginia University on January 5, 2019. Coming off an 8–4 (6–3) 2018 season by outgoing coach Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia was predicted to finish 8th out of 10 teams in the Big 12 media poll. After racing out to a 3–1 start to begin the 2019-20 football season, the Mountaineers lost five straight games for the first time since 2012. Three of the losses came against top-15 teams, No. 11 Texas, No. 5 Oklahoma, and No. 12 Baylor. Sitting at 3–6 (1–5) and on the verge of missing a bowl for the first time since 2013, WVU notched its only win against a ranked opponent the following week, winning at No. 24 Kansas State. With the win, WVU improved to 4–6 (2–5) and kept its bowl hopes alive. However, a loss against No. 21 Oklahoma State dashed their bowl hopes and guaranteed WVU's first losing season in six years. The Mountaineers finished the season with an upset at TCU, denying the Horned Frogs a chance at postseason play. West Virginia finished 5–7 (3–6) in Brown's first season.
Prior to Brown's second season, offensive coordinator Matt Moore was promoted to assistant head coach, and was replaced in his role as offensive coordinator by Penn State wide receivers coach Gerad Parker. Defensive coordinator Vic Koenning also resigned after allegations of mistreatment by West Virginia players. Brown promoted three defensive coaches to become co-defensive coordinators in place of Koenning. For the second straight season, West Virginia was predicted to finish 8th out of 10 teams in the Big 12 media poll. West Virginia was scheduled to open the season against Florida State, making their first appearance in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game since 2014. However, the game along with a matchup against rival Maryland were cancelled as a results of precautions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a result, the Mountaineers opened the 2020-21 season with one nonconference game, a home win over FCS Eastern Kentucky. After a road loss at No. 15 Oklahoma State to begin conference play, the Mountaineers recorded two home conference wins over Baylor and Kansas for the Mountaineers' second consecutive 3–1 start. West Virginia traded road losses (Texas Tech, No. 22 Texas, No. 9 Iowa State) and home wins (No. 16 Kansas State, TCU) over the following five games to sit at 5–4 (4–4) heading into a December home matchup with No. 11 Oklahoma. The game, originally scheduled for November, had been postponed due to positive coronavirus tests within the Sooners program. However, the contest was cancelled entirely after positive coronavirus tests forced WVU to "shut down football operations" for seven days. As a result, WVU finished Brown's second season having played in just nine total regular season games, the fewest for WVU since the 1954 season. However, despite only participating in nine contests, the Mountaineers were eligible for postseason play after the NCAA waived bowl eligibility requirements. West Virginia was invited to participate in the Liberty Bowl against Tennessee, marking the Mountaineers' first appearance in the contest since 2014, their first postseason play since 2018, and only the second all-time appearance against the Volunteers. Just one day after the matchup was announced, Tennessee (3–7) announced they had paused all team activities and were unable to compete after several positive coronavirus cases. Army (9–2), who had accepted an invitation to the Independence Bowl before it was canceled due to a lack of available teams, was named as their replacement. After falling behind the Black Knights 21–10 with 7:00 left in the 3rd quarter, West Virginia rallied behind two late TD passes from Austin Kendall to complete the comeback victory, 24–21.