Neal Brown handed North Texas one of its most bitter losses in recent program history.
Now the former West Virginia and Troy coach is headed to Denton to take over UNT’s football program following the departure of Eric Morris.
A source with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed to the Denton Record-Chronicle on Tuesday that Brown is taking over at UNT.
UNT announced it had hired Brown a short time later.
Brown spent the last few months as a special assistant to Steve Sarkisian at Texas.
The Kentucky native will take over a program in the midst of a historic season. UNT set a program record for wins while running out to an 11-1 mark in its third season under Morris.
The Mean Green are set to face Tulane in the American Conference championship game on Friday in New Orleans, the same city where Brown led Troy to a win over UNT in the New Orleans Bowl in 2017, the height of legendary quarterback Mason Fine’s career.
“Neal is a proven leader who builds programs with integrity, vision and an unwavering commitment to developing student-athletes on and off the field,” UNT athletic director Jared Mosley said in a statement announcing Brown’s arrival. “His history of elevating rosters, developing talent and producing results in highly competitive leagues makes him an ideal fit for North Texas.”
Brown will take over from Morris, who agreed last week to head the program at Oklahoma State.
Mosley moved quickly to find a new coach and turned to Brown due to his unique background. His hiring is contingent on a background check and approval from the school’s regents.
Brown guided the program at Troy from 2015-18, when he racked up a 35-16 record and three bowl wins.
Brown went on to coach at West Virginia, where he finished with a 37-35 record in six seasons. He has five bowl wins in his career.
“I am incredibly excited about the opportunity,” Brown said in a statement. “Several key criteria drove my analysis of opportunities this cycle — alignment, relationships, resources, opportunity and community. Jared and his team presented a clear vision of why North Texas and Denton check all those boxes and then some.”
Brown went 3-0 in bowl games at Troy. West Virginia qualified for four bowl games under Brown and won two of them.
West Virginia finished 6-6 in the regular season under Brown in 2024 before he was fired. The Mountaineers fell to Memphis under interim coach Chad Scott in the Frisco Bowl after Brown’s departure.
Brown joined the staff at Texas this spring, adding to his resume and wide range of experience that made him attractive to UNT officials. Mosley came to the school ahead of the 2016-17 school year to work as the top assistant to athletic director Wren Baker.
Mosley replaced Baker late in 2022. Since then, UNT has shown a preference for coaches with prior experience running a program.
Hiring Brown gives UNT someone to replace Morris with experience running a program as well as a wide-ranging background. Brown has guided a program outside the power conferences in Troy and a Big 12 team in West Virginia.
The time Brown has spent at Texas also gives him insight into how one of the country’s elite programs functions.
UNT officials believe that varied experience will give Brown a perspective that could help him guide the program in the revenue-share era.
While Brown will take over a team wrapping up one of the best seasons in program history, he will face several challenges when he arrives at UNT. Morris is staying with the Mean Green to guide them through the end of their season and said he is willing to help Brown adjust.
“I’ll spend some time with whoever he hires as the new coach to reflect on my time here and the things that I thought were incredible, the things I learned and the way we were able to build it here,” Morris said Tuesday before UNT announced it had hired Brown.
UNT is in the hunt for a spot in the College Football Playoff heading into its game at Tulane on Friday. The top five ranked conference champions will make the field.
The American has been in position to have its champion qualify for the CFP for most of the season. A win over Tulane would likely send UNT on to a first-round CFP game on Dec. 19 or 20.
If the Mean Green fall to Tulane, they’ll end up in a bowl game in about the same time frame. UNT will have to handle playing in the postseason while preparing for a transition period under Brown.
UNT also has a host of players with eligibility remaining who could elect to enter the transfer portal when it opens on Jan. 2. The expectation is that several of UNT’s top players, including record-setting quarterback Drew Mestemaker, will test the transfer market and potentially follow Morris to Stillwater.
Mestemaker said at UNT’s weekly press conference last week that he hasn’t considered what he will do yet and won’t until after the season.
Running back Caleb Hawkins and wide receiver Wyatt Young are also prime candidates to test the transfer waters.
JT Weir, a wide receiver from Fullerton College in California, told the Record-Chronicle after he committed that he planned to play for Morris and his staff next season, whether they were at UNT or another school.
Brown will now tackle a host of tasks, including putting his staff and a recruiting class together.
It promises to be an eventful few weeks as UNT’s new coach looks to build on the foundation Morris set.
BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870 and bvito@dentonrc.com.
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