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By: LARRY VAUGHT
LOUISVILLE — Neal Brown stood in the end zone by himself for a few brief moments just soaking up the end of his coaching career at Kentucky.
The Wildcats lost a heartbreaking 44-40 decision to Louisville to deny UK a chance to play in a bowl game and that’s not what Brown wanted in his final game before he officially becomes head coach at Troy University Monday morning.
Sources confirmed that Brown, Kentucky’s offensive coordinator, is Troy’s choice to succeed long-time coach Larry Blakeney, who announced this would be his last season. Brown served as offensive coordinator at Troy under Blakeney in 2008 and 2009 before leaving for Texas Tech where he had three straight top-15 offenses.
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said it was not the “appropriate time” to talk about Brown’s status and that it would “play out in the next 24 hours.” Brown also said he did not want to speculate on his future and said it was “too early” to talk.
‘I just said I am not speaking about it. That’s not my place. Today is about these kids and the progress we have made and how close we were. Bottom line we didn’t get it done,” Brown said.
However, it was obviously an emotional time for him. He wiped away a few tears while standing alone in the end zone and then has he consoled players. His voice also got a bit shaky at the end of his media opportunity as he finished.
Brown, a Boyle County High School graduate who played football two years at UK, joined Stoops’ staff at UK in 2012. The Cats went 2-10 in 2013 and this year they finished 5-7. While the offense improved, the shortcomings the Cats have were still obvious in Saturday’s loss at Louisville.
“I am proud of those kids in there. I am proud to have had the opportunity to coach in this game,” Brown said. “Don’t let this ending sour what has been a really good year this year. We got off to a good start, the schedule was backloaded (with tougher games). We had some close games we lost against quality opponents, but UK is on solid ground. Don’t let the ending of the game cloud the progress that is being made.”
Brown’s offensive track record and history with Troy — he knows what he’s getting into and Troy obviously knows about Brown — made him the choice at Troy at age 34. Others the source said were on Troy’s short list were UAB head coach Bill Clark, who guided Jacksonville State to a record-setting season in 2013 before taking over at UAB this season, and Mississippi offensive coordinator Matt Luke, who also had success at Tennessee and Duke.
Other names mentioned during the coach search were assistants Shane Beamer of Virginia Tech, Frank Wilson of LSU and Eddie Gran of Cincinnati.
So why would Brown leave the Southeastern Conference for Troy? There are a couple of obvious reasons:
• His goal has always been to be a head coach at age 35 and he will turn 35 in March.
Sure he could have stayed at UK under Stoops and hoped a Kentucky turnaround would lead him eventually to another head coaching offer at perhaps a bigger school than Troy, but why turn down a school that plays in a solid Sun Belt Conference and will have games against Mississippi State, Wisconsin and North Carolina State in 2015. He’ll sign a multi-year contract that will pay him more than he was making at UK and have a chance to prove his worth running his own program.
• Brown’s parents live in Danville. His wife’s parents live in Danville. They are expecting their third child in February. All that would seem to make staying at UK more logicial.
However, Troy is far closer to Danville than Texas Tech and family members — other than his wife — would not have to endure the daily second-guessing of fans on social media and other sources like they do now. One worry Brown had when he returned to Kentucky — a move he always wanted to make — was what emotional toll could it take on his family or his wife’s family.
The offensive coordinator was blistered on Twitter during Saturday’s game for everything from his play calling to players he played to lack of game preparation. It probably happened at Texas Tech at times and likely will at Troy, too. But there’s safety in distance for family members and it’s not like they can’t come to Troy to see him and his family.
Some have speculated that perhaps Stoops had become a bit disenchanted with Brown’s offense. However, there has been no issues between the two on or off the field.
Are their personalities different? Sure, Stoops is more spirited and Brown calmer. Do they like each other? Yes, and that includes their wives getting along well.
“There are not relationship issues between the two coaches,” the source said. “Not even a slight issue.”
Earlier this season Brown talked about what it was like to have Stoops trust him to run the offense without interference.
“If he has ideas, he comes to me. But for the most part, he kind of lets us do our thing. And I appreciate that. He’s given me a lot of autonomy. I trust him wholeheartedly. When he tells me to do something, I do it and don’t hesitate,” Brown said in September. “As far as other places, it’s been different. Coach (Tommy) Tuberville (of Texas Tech) is pretty hands-off with the offense. Coach Blakeney at Troy has an offensive background, but… all the guys I worked as a coordinator have been very, very good to work with.”
Stoops said he did his “homework” on Brown before he hired him and two years ago gave Brown time to explore head coaching opportunities before he opted to come to Kentucky.
“I look at everything and from a defensive point of view, I look at what he’s calling, what they’re doing, and look at dead plays. What I call dead plays, like, ‘Don’t run that; there’s nothing there.’ So I always watch that. But he does a great job of calling plays and setting things up,” Stoops said during the season when asked about Brown.
“He’s got great experience, so I have a lot of confidence in him. And then when it comes to managing the game, again, any good offensive coordinator sometimes, they want to go. But he does a nice job of looking at the whole picture and understanding. So just overall, I think it’s been good and he does a nice job of respecting what’s going on in a game and not just focusing on one thing. It’s been good. I like the style or I’d have never hired him.”
That’s when I also asked Stoops about his off-field relationship with Brown.
“We have a very good relationship. I really enjoy working with Neal.I really didn’t know him before this job, but as we got talking and got to spending time with each other before we decided to work with each other, I thought it would be a good fit. One thing I think that’s always important as you’re meeting your offensive coordinator or defensive coordinator is the confidence that he has,” Stoops said.
“I think Neal’s a very confident guy. He has a system. He knows what he wants to do. And so it’s been very good. I’m very happy with it. And off the field, we’ve become good friends, and it’s always good to have that good relationship with the guys you’re working with.”
That’s why the guess here is that no one is happier for Brown than Stoops, who had to wait years for his chance to become a head coach and understands the drive any young coach has to prove he can be a head coach.
Will Kentucky miss Brown?
Absolutely. He knows the state, he’s been good for recruiting — remember he sold Kentucky players on being “heroes” at UK — and despite what some critics insist, the offense has improved.
He came home to Kentucky intent on winning a Southeastern Conference championship and getting the UK program to a higher level than ever before. He’s not helped do that yet, but he has no doubt Stoops can take UK to that level.
Having the chance to become a head coach, though, and run his own program is just an opportunity that Brown could not turn down and will again be a logical move up the coaching profession just like every other move in his journey to this point has been.
Still, leaving is not easy and that’s why those tears trickled down his cheeks after the game ended and why family members shed some tears of their own as they watched him leave a UK sideline they all know he dearly loved.
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