Neal Brown was hired as head coach following Blakeney’s retirement. After starting his first season ever as a head coach in 2015, going 4-8, he led a monumental turnaround for the football program in the 2016 season, as the Trojan finished 10-3, including a 28-23 win over Ohio in the Dollar General Bowl. During that season, Troy cracked the AP Top 25 for the first time since the program joined the FBS in 2001. Troy was also the first football program in the Sun Belt Conference to ever receive a Top 25 ranking.