Brown to Resume Play-Calling Duties in 2023
August 02, 2023 03:39 PM | Football, Blog
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Neal Brown's experiment of letting others call the plays is over.
Earlier this summer, he indicated that he would resume play-calling duties for West Virginia after stepping aside in 2022 to let former offensive coordinator Graham Harrell handle the task.
Since Harrell's departure to Purdue, Brown took time immediately after the season to evaluate all aspects of his offense and concluded that it was best to promote Chad Scott to offensive coordinator and go back to what got him to West Virginia in the first place – him calling the plays.
Earlier today, Brown expanded on this.
"I just think it goes back to this … we made the decision what we were going to do offensively back in December-January. Chad has done a really good job as the coordinator, and he is going to lead those unit meetings, and he's kind of the (offensive) voice in practice," Brown explained.
"This is going into year nine for me as a head coach," he continued. "One year, I didn't call the plays and the rest of them I did. Now, (former offensive coordinator) Gerad (Parker) was very involved and called some games at the end the 2021 season, but for the other seven years as a head coach, I've always called them. I think there is some real advantages to doing that as far as managing the game."
Brown said he doesn't consider last season a lost year for him in that respect. There were some things he learned from letting someone else handle the play calling.
"It is not something I necessarily regret because I think it was good for me from a growth standpoint," he admitted. "It was beneficial because it gave me some time to think about, 'Okay, who do we need to be here for us to be successful offensively? What are my weeks and days looking like as a play caller?' For me, it just came back to the most success I've had as a head coach is doing it."
For a refresher, think back to the 2012 season when Brown was calling the plays at Texas Tech and the Red Raiders went up and down the field at will against West Virginia in Lubbock. That afternoon, Texas Tech scored seven touchdowns, passed for 508 yards and ran for 168 more.
Not only did his play calling force West Virginia to abandon the run by attempting 56 passes to play catch-up, but it also completely controlled the game.
"The only reason I have this job in the first place is because I was a really good offensive coordinator," Brown pointed out. "I've got a really good room and Chad, Sean (Reagan) and Matt (Moore), we've played a lot of games together, and I think they're really bright. Then, we've added some young energy (Bilal Marshall and Blaine Stewart), so I think we've got some great coaches."
Brown indicated that Reagan is remaining in the press box with Scott staying on the field, as was the case last year.
"Even with Graham last year, he really leaned on (Reagan) as well, and we will continue to do that. Chad and Matt have had a lot of say in our run game going back as far as two years ago, so they will continue to do that," Brown said.
Brown said in-game play calling can be a little bit overrated at times.
"It's more about getting your game plan set early in the week and being able to rep those plays and then having answers within the game," he pointed out. "Answers within the game, a lot of times, come from those guys that aren't necessarily the play caller because as a play caller you're thinking ahead, and in between series, those guys can really help you because they're not necessarily focused on the ball as much. They are focused on other things.
"My trust level in those guys … we've been through a lot of battles," he continued. "I listen to them. They are not just giving suggestions that are like, 'Hey, try this.' They have really good reasons behind it. When they tell me things, whether it's practice, games or planning purposes, I listen."
Brown said there is less communication needed when the head coach is the primary play caller. In this setup, he's relying on the data analytics person on his staff to help him with down and distance scenarios.
The person handling that this year is his offensive analyst, Randy Wilkins.
"Randy is kind of my point guy on data analytics, so we really make a lot of these decisions on Thursdays before the game; when are we going to go for it on fourth down? when are you going for touchdowns or field goals? There are always ebbs and flows to the game, but if the head coach is not the play caller, basically what you do is on first or second down, at the latest, you let the guy know when he's got four downs. As the head coach, you don't necessarily have to communicate that so you can kind of think ahead."
Brown recalls the Oklahoma game two years ago when he was able to control the tempo by slowing down the game with his play calling to keep the high-powered Sooner offense off the field. Oklahoma generated just 16 points and needed a Gabe Brkic field goal with no time on the clock to win the game.
"We really controlled that game," he pointed out. "They were really potent on offense coming into the game, and we huddled more and really controlled the time of possession and kind of managed the game.
"If not for an error there, we had a chance to kick a field goal to win the game. That's not something I sit here and talk to our team about, but we had a plan to shorten the game going into it and we were able to do that. That's just an example of how, as a head coach, you can affect the tempo of the game, and the offensive play caller has more of an impact on the tempo of the game than anybody else."
The main goal, of course, is to win the football game. How many yards you average, how many first downs you get or how many points you score can look great on a play caller's resume. It might lead to a promotion or even a head coaching job somewhere else.
But what looks greatest on the head coach's resume are those Ws that are listed next to his name, and those don't always go next to the play caller's name.
West Virginia concluded its first day of preseason camp this morning. The Mountaineers are scheduled to practice again tomorrow with media permitted to observe the first hour. Coordinators Scott and Jordan Lesley will be made available afterward.
Earlier this summer, he indicated that he would resume play-calling duties for West Virginia after stepping aside in 2022 to let former offensive coordinator Graham Harrell handle the task.
Since Harrell's departure to Purdue, Brown took time immediately after the season to evaluate all aspects of his offense and concluded that it was best to promote Chad Scott to offensive coordinator and go back to what got him to West Virginia in the first place – him calling the plays.
Earlier today, Brown expanded on this.
"I just think it goes back to this … we made the decision what we were going to do offensively back in December-January. Chad has done a really good job as the coordinator, and he is going to lead those unit meetings, and he's kind of the (offensive) voice in practice," Brown explained.
"This is going into year nine for me as a head coach," he continued. "One year, I didn't call the plays and the rest of them I did. Now, (former offensive coordinator) Gerad (Parker) was very involved and called some games at the end the 2021 season, but for the other seven years as a head coach, I've always called them. I think there is some real advantages to doing that as far as managing the game."
Brown said he doesn't consider last season a lost year for him in that respect. There were some things he learned from letting someone else handle the play calling.
"It is not something I necessarily regret because I think it was good for me from a growth standpoint," he admitted. "It was beneficial because it gave me some time to think about, 'Okay, who do we need to be here for us to be successful offensively? What are my weeks and days looking like as a play caller?' For me, it just came back to the most success I've had as a head coach is doing it."
For a refresher, think back to the 2012 season when Brown was calling the plays at Texas Tech and the Red Raiders went up and down the field at will against West Virginia in Lubbock. That afternoon, Texas Tech scored seven touchdowns, passed for 508 yards and ran for 168 more.
Not only did his play calling force West Virginia to abandon the run by attempting 56 passes to play catch-up, but it also completely controlled the game.
"The only reason I have this job in the first place is because I was a really good offensive coordinator," Brown pointed out. "I've got a really good room and Chad, Sean (Reagan) and Matt (Moore), we've played a lot of games together, and I think they're really bright. Then, we've added some young energy (Bilal Marshall and Blaine Stewart), so I think we've got some great coaches."
Brown indicated that Reagan is remaining in the press box with Scott staying on the field, as was the case last year.
"Even with Graham last year, he really leaned on (Reagan) as well, and we will continue to do that. Chad and Matt have had a lot of say in our run game going back as far as two years ago, so they will continue to do that," Brown said.
Brown said in-game play calling can be a little bit overrated at times.
"It's more about getting your game plan set early in the week and being able to rep those plays and then having answers within the game," he pointed out. "Answers within the game, a lot of times, come from those guys that aren't necessarily the play caller because as a play caller you're thinking ahead, and in between series, those guys can really help you because they're not necessarily focused on the ball as much. They are focused on other things.
"My trust level in those guys … we've been through a lot of battles," he continued. "I listen to them. They are not just giving suggestions that are like, 'Hey, try this.' They have really good reasons behind it. When they tell me things, whether it's practice, games or planning purposes, I listen."
Brown said there is less communication needed when the head coach is the primary play caller. In this setup, he's relying on the data analytics person on his staff to help him with down and distance scenarios.
The person handling that this year is his offensive analyst, Randy Wilkins.
"Randy is kind of my point guy on data analytics, so we really make a lot of these decisions on Thursdays before the game; when are we going to go for it on fourth down? when are you going for touchdowns or field goals? There are always ebbs and flows to the game, but if the head coach is not the play caller, basically what you do is on first or second down, at the latest, you let the guy know when he's got four downs. As the head coach, you don't necessarily have to communicate that so you can kind of think ahead."
Brown recalls the Oklahoma game two years ago when he was able to control the tempo by slowing down the game with his play calling to keep the high-powered Sooner offense off the field. Oklahoma generated just 16 points and needed a Gabe Brkic field goal with no time on the clock to win the game.
"We really controlled that game," he pointed out. "They were really potent on offense coming into the game, and we huddled more and really controlled the time of possession and kind of managed the game.
"If not for an error there, we had a chance to kick a field goal to win the game. That's not something I sit here and talk to our team about, but we had a plan to shorten the game going into it and we were able to do that. That's just an example of how, as a head coach, you can affect the tempo of the game, and the offensive play caller has more of an impact on the tempo of the game than anybody else."
The main goal, of course, is to win the football game. How many yards you average, how many first downs you get or how many points you score can look great on a play caller's resume. It might lead to a promotion or even a head coaching job somewhere else.
But what looks greatest on the head coach's resume are those Ws that are listed next to his name, and those don't always go next to the play caller's name.
West Virginia concluded its first day of preseason camp this morning. The Mountaineers are scheduled to practice again tomorrow with media permitted to observe the first hour. Coordinators Scott and Jordan Lesley will be made available afterward.
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