- Neal Brown signed a six-year deal in January 2019.
- He signed an extension after his second season.
- West Virginia AD Shane Lyons was fired in mid-November.
Neal Brown lost four total conference games over his final three seasons as Troy head coach. He matched that total by Halloween of his first season as West Virginia head coach. And three years later, things aren’t much better in Morgantown.
A win over Oklahoma State in the regular-season finale put Brown at 22-25 overall and 14-21 in the Big 12 in four seasons as West Virginia head coach. And the mid-November firing of athletics director Shane Lyons might signal Brown is on the college football hot seat.
Neal Brown’s Contract
Brown left Troy in January 2019 to sign a six-year contract with West Virginia worth approximately $19 million.
Two years later – with an 11-11 overall record and 7-10 Big 12 record – he was inexplicably gifted an extension that kept him under contract through 2026. The new six-year deal is worth approximately $23.85 million.
Neal Brown’s Buyout
If Brown is fired before Dec. 31, 2024, he’s due a buyout equal to 100% of his remaining contract. That drops to 85% if fired between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2026.
If fired, for example, on Nov. 27, 2022 – one day after West Virginia’s regular-season finale against Oklahoma State – Brown’s buyout would be 100% of his remaining contract from 2023-2026 plus the prorated amount for the remainder of 2022, i.e., Nov. 28, 2022, through Dec. 31, 2022.
In that case, the total buyout bill would be approximately $16 million.
West Virginia hasn’t fired a head coach in more than 40 years. The Mountaineers received a small buyout ($1 million) when Dana Holgorsen left for Houston in January 2019.
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