Neal Brown signed a contract to become the next coach at North Texas, the school announced on Tuesday. The deal is for five years, sources told ESPN, and Brown brings 10 years of head coaching experience to the Mean Green, including a 35-16 mark at Troy and a 37-35 mark at West Virginia.

Brown will replace Eric Morris, who is headed to Oklahoma State after being hired by the Big 12 school last week. Brown has a 5-1 record in bowl games and led Troy to the 2017 Sun Belt title. He also defeated LSU and Nebraska as Troy’s head coach. He spent last season on staff at Texas.

“Neal is a proven leader who builds programs with integrity, vision and an unwavering commitment to developing student-athletes on and off the field,” North Texas athletic director Jared Mosley said in a statement. “His history of elevating rosters, developing talent and producing results in highly competitive leagues makes him an ideal fit for North Texas.”

Morris has led North Texas to an 11-1 record this season, and will remain with the Mean Green for the rest of the season. North Texas will play Tulane in the American Conference title game this weekend, and could make 12-team College Football Playoff.

“Football in Texas is special, and my family and I can’t wait to pour everything we have into the North Texas campus,” Brown said in the school’s announcement. “Most importantly, our program will always be a player-driven program, and I look forward to getting to know this team and building our roster for the future.”

Brown spent six seasons coaching West Virginia before being fired in December 2024. The Mountaineers entered his final campaign with lofty aspirations, including contending for a Big 12 title and a College Football Playoff appearance. And Brown even bristled when the Mountaineers didn’t crack the preseason polls, adding to the expectations in Morgantown.

But West Virginia authored some uneven performances and never won more than two consecutive games in that final season. Fan and booster angst continued to rise before he was ultimately fired, and replaced by Rich Rodriguez.

“We are confident that his leadership will position the Mean Green for sustained success,” Mosley said. “And we look forward to the impact he and his family will have on our program and our community for years to come.”

New Auburn coach Alex Golesh is retaining defensive coordinator DJ Durkin, who led the team as interim head coach down the stretch and was a top candidate for the permanent role.

Golesh, hired Sunday by Auburn, said in a statement that keeping Durkin was “an easy call.” Durkin has been Auburn’s defensive coordinator the past two seasons and took over as interim coach Nov. 2 following the firing of Hugh Freeze. He entered last week’s Iron Bowl game against rival Alabama as an option for the permanent role, with his candidacy strengthened by an upset win over the Tide, sources said. Auburn lost 27-20 to finish its season at 5-7.

Golesh, who like Durkin is from Ohio, said their relationship stretches back more than 20 years.

“We are fortunate to retain one of the top defensive minds in college football here on The Plains,” Golesh said in a statement. “He’s an elite leader, incredible father and husband and will be phenomenal leader on the defensive side of the ball. We have great respect for each other. Time to go to work.”

Durkin previously held coordinator stints at Texas A&M and Ole Miss before coming to Auburn. He served as Maryland‘s coach from 2016 to 2018. Auburn’s defense ranks 31st nationally in yards allowed and 32nd in points allowed.

Asked Monday at his introductory news conference about Durkin, Golesh said he “had a plan” and hoped to have something finalized by Wednesday.

“Coach Golesh and I have known each other long time and I’ve got a lot of respect for him, his teams and the way they work,” Durkin said in a statement. “I’m excited about what he’s going to bring to Auburn and grateful for the chance to work alongside him. I love this group of players, and it mattered to me to keep pushing forward with what they have already started.”

Golesh is bringing several staff members with him to Auburn from South Florida, including offensive coordinator Joel Gordon, sources said.

BYU coach Kalani Sitake has begun to inform people that he intends to stay at the school, rebuffing overtures from Penn State, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Tuesday.

BYU is in the process of putting together a lucrative contract to keep him and Sitake informed Penn State of his intention to remain in Provo, sources said.

The development comes as No. 11 BYU prepares for Saturday’s Big 12 title game against No. 5 Texas Tech, with the winner securing an automatic bid to the College Football Playoff.

Sitake has been BYU’s head coach since 2016 and has won more than 65% of his games. He led BYU to an 11-2 record in 2024, and the Cougars are 11-1 this season as they continue a rapid ascent in their third year in the Big 12. BYU officials had been aggressive in trying to retain Sitake, sources said, and considered keeping him the athletic department’s top priority.

Sitake has won at least 10 games in four of the past six seasons at BYU. After a 2-7 mark in Big 12 play during the program’s transition year in 2023, the Cougars have gone 15-3 since and identified a long-term answer at quarterback in freshman Bear Bachmeier.

The Penn State coaching search had focused on Sitake in recent weeks, with the sides engaging in discussions about the job. While there had been mutual interest — including conversations about staffing and other details of a potential tenure in State College — no agreement was ever reached, and Sitake ultimately elected to stay in Provo.

Penn State officials were active early in their coaching search, which included numerous in-person meetings around the country. That activity has quieted in recent weeks, sources told Thamel, even as candidates got new jobs and others received new contracts.

Sitake, who played high school football in Missouri and starred at BYU before signing with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2001, has spent his entire coaching career in the Mountain Time Zone or farther west, with stops at BYU, Oregon State, Utah, Southern Utah and Eastern Arizona. He is BYU’s fourth head coach since LaVell Edwards took over the program in 1972.