Neal Brown to WVU
Good hire IMO. Troy is pretty big here in the Wiregrass with it being about 45 minutes north of here so we get a lot of Troy news. Brown did things right.. He took over a program that had become stagnant under Larry Blakeney. His first task, other than replenishing the talent there, was to create real fan interest through participation in a lot of events and really getting tailgating cranked up on campus. To have an actual game day atmosphere. He was readily available for all types of interviews and doing whatever he could to promote the program.
They struggled the first year, going 4-8. Since then, he's gone 31-8 with 3 straight 10 or more win seasons and was 3 for 3 in bowl wins. Beat LSU in Baton Rude in the process. People have been saying he would have the most talented team yet coming back next year.
I'm still of the opinion that if AU had sent Gus packing, they should swing for the fences with a Stoops or Urban Meyer (I know he's not coming) type hire. But had Neal Brown been considered, I wouldn't have a problem with that at all. Let's just say I'd have been a little more optimistic than when they announced Malzahn was the new coach.