Baylor’s coaching search has already started to take shape, and one of the names being mentioned is a familiar one in West Virginia circles: Neal Brown.
The Bears moved on from Dave Aranda over the weekend after a second straight loss dropped Baylor to 4-3 on the season. That has opened the door for speculation, and Craig Meyer of USA Today included Brown among seven possible candidates for the job. Others have floated his name as well.
Brown’s first season at North Texas has certainly put him back on the radar. He took over a program that had been stripped down after Eric Morris left for Oklahoma State with many of the key pieces, yet the Mean Green are sitting at 5-2 with the nation’s No. 2 scoring offense, averaging 43.1 points per game. His offense is wide open, the kind of attack that would bring back memories for Baylor fans of the program’s best stretches, and he already has Big 12 experience from six seasons as West Virginia’s head coach.
Still, there’s a reason some programs may hesitate. Brown went 37-35 at West Virginia, and that record could be enough to make a league peer think twice, especially with Baylor’s NIL resources not all that different from what he dealt with in the Big 12.
The idea of Brown landing Baylor - or any other Power Four opening - after only one year at North Texas feels like a stretch. What he’s done there is impressive, though. He’s kept the momentum rolling after Morris’ departure despite having to rebuild much of the roster from scratch.
The difference-maker pieces have popped, too. If Drew Mestemaker and Caleb Hawkins gave UNT a dynamic look, Brown has taken things further with Tayven Jackson and Jahiem White.
UNT offensive "Big 3" 2025 vs 2026 comparison through 7 games: pic.twitter.com/LmWTCU9PGm
Brown may stay on Baylor’s list, but one strong season at North Texas probably won’t be enough for a school like Baylor - or anyone else - to hand him the keys to a major job just yet.
His first run as a Power Four head coach didn’t go smoothly, and there are plenty of reasons for that. West Virginia wasn’t ready for the new NIL era, and Brown also had to navigate the pandemic and the transfer portal. The job he agreed to was not the one he ultimately had to manage, and the deck was stacked against him in a lot of ways.
Even so, Brown figures to win a lot of games at North Texas, and that will keep him in the conversation. But if he gets another shot at a Power Four post, it probably won’t come until another year or two have passed.
In Other News...
WVUs Defensive Beatdown Just Led To Serious Fallout At TCU
West Virginias defense left TCU searching for answers after a game in which the Horned Frogs struggled to protect their quarterback and never got their running game going. The aftermath was swift. Soon after the loss, TCU head coach Sonny Dykes fired co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach A.J. Ricker, a move that underscored how badly the offense had stalled against the Mountaineers.
Dykes pointed to the teams inability to make critical plays even with statistical advantages, a frustration that has now turned into a major shakeup on the staff. For West Virginia, it was the kind of defensive performance that can ripple beyond one Saturday, forcing an opponent to confront deeper issues almost immediately. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginia Just Gave Fans A Real Reason To Rethink The Big 12
The Big 12 spent the weekend looking a lot more open than it did just a few days ago, with ranked teams falling on the road and the standings taking on a more chaotic feel. No. 2 BYU lost at UCF and No. 8 Texas Tech dropped at Cincinnati, while West Virginia did its part by getting past TCU with several key defensive plays that helped swing the game in its favor.
For Mountaineer fans, the result matters beyond one Saturday because it fit into a broader conference reset that is showing up in the updated power rankings and the Week 9 outlook. It also came on a day when Baylor moved into a new era after Dave Aranda coached his final game there following a loss to Kansas, another reminder that the league's middle and upper tiers are shifting in real time. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginia Opens Season With Two Key Players Still In Limbo
West Virginias season opener may already come with a legal backdrop attached, as the status of Brenen Lorient and Javan Buchanan remains tied up in court. The latest development is another delay in the case, with the courts denying an expedited briefing, which means the NCAAs opening brief is now due Nov. 30 and responses follow by Dec. 29. For now, a preliminary injunction keeps both players eligible, but the situation is anything but settled.
The real concern for the Mountaineers is whether that protection holds long enough to matter once the case gets deeper into the process. A court-issued stay could still change their availability, though legal experts believe that first request is likely to be denied. If that happens, the matter could keep moving through further proceedings and potentially into the appeals process, leaving West Virginia to navigate the start of the season with two important names still in limbo. [Read more 🡒]