Steve Sarkisian is looking for a special assistant to the head coach.
The Morgantown ties for the Texas Longhorns football program could expand in the coming days with reports from On3 and 247Sports on Monday that head coach Steve Sarkisian is targeting former West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Neal Brown for a spot on his staff.
The reports did not specify what role Brown could fill, but Texas is searching for a special assistant to the head coach after one-year stints on the staff from former Michigan State defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton, now the defensive coordinator at Wake Forest, and longtime personnel staffer Bill Rees.
Fired by West Virginia after six seasons and a 37-35 record with the Mountaineers, Brown has an Air Raid background after playing wide receiver under Hal Mumme at Kentucky and serving as the Texas Tech offensive coordinator under Tommy Tuberville prior to a successful stint as the Troy head coach from 2015 to 2018.
But Brown was also responsible for working with new Texas running backs coach Chad Scott to develop successful rushing attacks as West Virginia shifted to a more ground-based attack in recent seasons — given the inconsistency in the running game for the Horns last season, Brown’s primary appeal could be in finding ways to grow in that area.
