No. 20 North Texas names Neal Brown to replace Oklahoma St-bound Eric Morris after season

DENTON, Texas (AP) — North Texas has named Neal Brown as its new head coach, to replace Oklahoma State-bound Eric Morris after the playoff-chasing No. 20 Mean Green complete their record-breaking season.

The appointment of Brown on Tuesday came days before North Texas (11-1, No. 24 CFP) plays at No. 21 Tulane (10-2, No. 20 CFP) in the American Conference championship game. The winner Friday night likely will make the 12-team College Football Playoff.

“Neal is a proven leader who builds programs with integrity, vision and an unwavering commitment to developing student-athletes on and off the field,” North Texas athletic director Jared Mosley said. “His history of elevating rosters, developing talent and producing results in highly competitive leagues makes him an ideal fit for North Texas. We are confident that his leadership will position the Mean Green for sustained success.”

Brown, the 45-year-old former West Virginia and Troy coach, has spent this season at Texas as a special offensive assistant for coach Steve Sarkisian. Brown was 72-51 with the Mountaineers and Trojans, including five bowl wins, after previously being offensive coordinator at Kentucky (2013-14) and Texas Tech (2010-12).

“Several key criteria drove my analysis of opportunities this cycle — alignment, relationships, resources, opportunity, and community,” Brown said. “Jared and his team presented a clear vision of why North Texas and Denton check all those boxes and then some. Football in Texas is special, and my family and I can’t wait to pour everything we have into the North Texas campus and Denton.”

Morris, 22-15 in his three seasons at UNT, last week was named Oklahoma State’s head coach. North Texas already has its first 11-win season, and Morris has said he will coach the Mean Green until the season is over, even if they win the conference, get snubbed by the CFP and end up in a bowl game with not much at stake.

The Cowboys team that Morris will be taking over finished 1-11 this year while going winless in Big 12 Conference games for the second season in a row.

It was one year ago Monday that Brown was fired by West Virginia after going 37-35 over six seasons (2019-24). The Mountaineers, who were 6-6 before going to a bowl game after he was let go, never were ranked in the AP Top 25 poll or played for a Big 12 championship during his time.

Before West Virginia, he was 35-16 at Troy from 2015-18, with a Sun Belt Conference championship in 2017.

The West Virginia AD who initially retained and then extended Brown is Wren Baker, who held that same role at North Texas before being succeeded by Mosley, previously the athletic department’s associate VP and chief operating officer.

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