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Troy has found its next football head coach, and Kentucky Wildcats offensive coordinator Neal Brown is the man, the school announced Sunday.
Larry Blakeney announced in October he would retire as Troy's football coach at the conclusion of the 3-9 season, giving the Trojans plenty of time to find his successor.
Brown just wrapped up his second season at UK as the OC after a stint as Texas Tech OC. His specialty is the air raid offense, but his style also allows for running backs to have an impact. Brown likes to emulate Eagles head coach Chip Kelly in that he demands his offense be as up-tempo as possible. While the OC at Texas Tech, Brown's offenses ran the most plays per game in college football over a 3-year span.
There's also the Tony Franklin connection. Now the offensive coordinator at California under air raid connoisseur Sonny Dykes, Franklin and Brown both served at Troy from 2006-07. Franklin was the offensive coordinator, while Brown was a receivers coach.
UK's season ended its season Saturday with a loss to in-state rival Louisville to fall to 5-7 and miss bowl eligibility. It was a promising yet frustrating year for both Brown and UK, who started the year 5-1 and appeared headed to a bowl for the first time since 2010.