For WVU head coach Brown the profession is a mix of work and fun

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For new West Virginia head coach Neal Brown having fun is an important element to it all.

Yes, hard work is a necessity in order to build a winning program over time but it’s often lost that football is a game and the point of it all is enjoy preparing for and playing it.

“They talk about playing, playing football. I want our players to look forward to coming into the Milan Puskar Center. That doesn’t mean we won’t work hard, we will,” he said.

An ardent family man, Brown has used that formula to amass a 35-16 record during his time at Troy including a 31-8 mark over the past three seasons, tied for the best of any group of five program.

But he doesn’t just preach it, he practices the formula as well.

Never was that more evident than when Brown became a viral sensation of sorts with his video of him and his coaching staff dancing to a number of popular songs.

“This is one thing Brooke said I had to hit today,” he said about the video during his introductory press conference.

The idea began innocently enough as Becky Whetstone, who is in charge of academics at Troy, sent multiple email correspondences attempting to entice Brown and his coaches to enter a competition between the various coaching staffs on campus for the Trojan Tribute Award.

After what Brown recalled as around 10-plus emails, he spoke with Chanda Rigby the head women’s basketball coach at Troy in a staff meeting. It was there she challenged Brown and didn’t believe that he would take on creating a music video. So it was then and there that he decided to put it together and with the help of one of his coaches that had a little bit of a background in music the idea was born.

Once it was executed and the video was filmed, Brown thought that it would be a one-time thing which would be presented at the award show and then locked away in a vault.

That wasn’t the case.

“It may be the most watched, even more so than our win against LSU; it may be the most watched video in Troy athletic history,” Brown said. “I want to make sure that is clear. That wasn’t a serious video.”

It’s something that some of his assistants that also participated have had to try to live down as well, including new West Virginia defensive coordinator Vic Koenning, who was in the same spot at Troy.

“My kids still don’t let me forget about that. That was all to my chagrin. I really did not want to do it. I have really once danced a few times in my life,” he said.

While that is just one fun example, the point it drives home about the way Brown approaches coaching is an important one. Some of that is his age at only 38 which allows him to connect with players.

“I think being one of the younger head coaches, especially at this level, I think it’s a benefit,” he said.

This past spring, he spent time at Clemson with Dabo Swinney and was able to watch the way he interacts with his players and how he treats the balance of work and play.

A method that’s resulted in two national championships for the Tigers in the last three seasons.

“Really felt like man this is one of the top programs in college football and if they’re doing it this way I really feel sound in our approach as well,” Brown said.

In the end however, the biggest reason for Brown’s approach to his players is that for him it works. It provides him an opportunity to coach the game he loves and avoid some of the pitfalls that other coaches find themselves in when they enter the profession.

“I don’t want to be miserable. I look at some many people in this profession. I get it, the pressure is high, the money is a lot but at the end of the day we’re coaching football. Come on,” he said.

Just don’t expect any more viral videos in the near future.

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