Andy BackstromContributing writerWed, December 3, 2025 at 12:33 AM UTC·2 min readNorth Texas announced Tuesday it's hired Neal Brown as its next head coach. Brown, who occupied that role at Troy and West Virginia before taking an assistant position on Steve Sarkisian's Texas staff this season, will have some massive shoes to fill in Denton.
That's where Eric Morris has authored an unexpected Cinderella story. The Mean Green entered the year without a double-digit-win campaign in their 60-season FBS history. Under Morris, they've ended that drought in 2025, ushering in 11 regular-season victories while booking their ticket to the American championship, less than three years after North Texas left Conference USA.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLast week, Oklahoma State named Morris its next head coach, however, Morris is finishing what he started at North Texas. His No. 24 Mean Green are facing off against No. 20 Tulane on Friday night in the conference title game. If North Texas wins and advances to its first College Football Playoff as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions, Morris will be allowed to continue coaching the team, according to Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger.
Eventually, though, Brown, 45, will take over.
He'll be tasked with continuing the momentum built by Morris. During the regular season, North Texas led the country with 46.8 points and 511.8 yards per game.
Fortunately for Brown, he's conducted some potent offenses, too. His 2023 West Virginia squad, which finished 9-4 with a Duke's Mayo Bowl win, ranked fifth in the Big 12 that season with 31.5 points per game. Plus, his 2016 Troy team that cracked the AP Top 25 clocked out averaging 33.7 points per game, the 39th-most nationally. The next season, Brown was named Sun Belt Coach of the Year, as the Trojans upset then-No. 25 LSU and won 11 games as well as a conference championship.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBrown has a 72-51 career head-coaching record, including a 5-1 mark in bowl games. He was responsible for three consecutive 10-plus-win seasons during his four-season stay at Troy from 2015-18 before going 37-35 from 2019-24 at West Virginia, where he led the Mountaineers to four bowl games but never more than nine victories in a season.
West Virginia fired Brown after a 52-15 loss to Texas Tech two years ago. Uneven offensive production down the stretch of his tenure and a bad passing defense spelled doom for Brown in Morgantown.
He'll try to course-correct at North Texas and take the baton from Morris.
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