Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Football Beckons Again, Brookhart Answers
December 18, 2010 | Football, B.G. Brooks
A month ago, Brookhart, his wife and four boys were settling into their new home in the Dallas area. They believed they were there for the long haul. The pool and spa had just been finished. They had formulated a 16-year plan that didn't include football - unless you count watching it on TV or maybe slipping away on a Saturday afternoon to a college game in the area.
A more-than-respectable receiver at Colorado State in the mid-1980s, Brookhart entered private business after a brief NFL tryout and was doing very well without football. But he worked his way back in, all the way to the head coaching job at Akron in less than a decade.
After being dismissed by Akron at the conclusion of his sixth season, he thought he'd had enough of football and was turning toward helping run Chinese Ministries International, a Christian-based non-profit foundation formed by his wife's family.
Then new Colorado Coach Jon Embree called "and presented an opportunity," Brookhart recalled. "It was interesting. My wife and I said back in the summer, we were making a move to Texas to be there for at least 16 years, or until our youngest graduated. It was a life decision.
"I was going to be around a lot more for the family. I basically said there were two (football) jobs we'd consider - Texas and Colorado. Fortunately, that opportunity sprang up. It was a difficult, but exciting decision to make."
Without his family's blessing, Brookhart would have told Embree, "Thanks, but no thanks." But wife Jami, finally settling back into her home state, recognized that her husband's football spark hadn't been extinguished and started packing - again.
Once Brookhart entered coaching, he made a rapid ascent. He and Embree had played together at Cherry Creek High School, then against each other when CU played CSU. Ironically, both ended up in the same NFL camp (Los Angeles Rams), but Embree stuck on the roster at tight end and Brookhart didn't as a wideout.
So Brookhart waved a tentative goodbye to football and entered sales, where he excelled, first selling corporate sponsorships for The International at Castle Pines. Then he moved to Xerox in Denver and ultimately was recruited away to sell ultra-sound imaging, then to sell mechanical engineering software. (Maybe he filed away those recruiting techniques?)
He was 30 years old, living in Salt Lake City and by his own admission "doing really well and not working that much." But if he had it made, he wasn't aware of it. "I said to myself, 'This is not what's it about. How do I get into coaching?"
Brookhart believed he should start at the top and work his way down. A college roommate's dad knew former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan and Brookhart used that connection to talk his way into the Broncos organization for two seasons (1995-96). He worked for the experience, no pay, but did well enough to catch Shanahan's eye as an up-and-comer.
After being hired by the University of Pittsburgh to coach tight ends, he moved to receivers coach, tutoring a pair of Biletnikoff Award winners in Larry Fitzgerald and Antonio Bryant. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2000, and after seven seasons at Pitt, he was hired as Akron's head coach in 2003. His overall record there was 30-42, 22-26 in the Mid-American Conference. But the Zips won the MAC for the first time in school history under Brookhart (2005) and played in their first bowl game (Motor City).
The next four seasons, though, the Zips were zapped, enduring key injuries and four consecutive losing records. Brookhart and his staff were dismissed after a 3-9 finish in 2009, sending him out of football (he thought) and back into the private sector.
"I was making a change in my life and getting out of the business," Brookhart said. "But Jon and I had stayed in touch just because of the foundation of our relationship. I talked with him throughout the past year.
"I had made the decision to get out of coaching. But my thought process has always been, 'Make your decisions based on people.' And I have a high regard for Jon Embree. That part was easy. It wasn't a question for me. The added of bonus of it being Colorado and my family's support just made it happen."
Brookhart will coach CU's tight ends/special teams and be the passing game coordinator. He'll recruit wherever he's assigned, but Embree says Brookhart "has done very well in Ohio and very well in the junior colleges . . . he'll give us flexibility."
No matter the territory, Brookhart believes he can succeed.
"It's great to have connections, but I've got a sales background and that's all (recruiting) is," he said. "You treat people right and you look for the right fits. Colorado is not the right choice for every kid. My job is to show them that this is the most right choice; there's a lot of good opportunities out there. My job as a recruiter is to prove this is the most right choice. And I believe there's a ton of reasons for a kid to be here."
Pitt landed Fitzgerald, now with the Arizona Cardinals, via a nice bit of salesmanship from Brookhart and another assistant. The prospect was driving back to Minneapolis, his hometown, from a Penn State camp and was talked into making a detour to Pitt.
Brookhart & Co. completed the sales job on Fitzgerald, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, and quarterback Tyler Palko. At the Pitt camp, Brookhart recalled having bed-check duty and that pair asking if they could "go back and watch tape. It was 10 o'clock. We went back to the office and watched tape . . . I said, 'Yeah, these are the right guys.'"
Other than his boss, Brookhart said he doesn't have a "tight, tight relationship" with any of CU's incoming assistants. "I knew of Greg (Brown, defensive coordinator) and 'EB' (offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy) before, but I'm impressed with the staff that Jon's putting together."
Not having a multi-year contract "isn't really a factor for me," Brookhart said. "I'm comfortable with my body of work and what I do. I feel confident the opportunities (to succeed) are here. If you were talking about a head coach who isn't given a multi-year contract, then I think I'd be concerned in this business. But it really doesn't faze me."
Besides playing with Brookhart at Cherry Creek, Embree was coached by Brookhart's father, Jack. Embree calls J.D. "a very, very bright guy . . . he's got an unparalleled passion for the game."
And as hard as he's tried to rid himself of it, it obviously hasn't worked. Embree figures that's going to be very good for the Buffaloes.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
