Football
Sep 12 (Fri)
5:30 PM
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- greg.brown@colorado.edu
Greg Brown is in his second year as defensive coordinator, and in his third stint at the University of Colorado under as many head coaches, as Jon Embree brought him back as a member of his inaugural coaching staff on December 17, 2010. He had barely been gone from Boulder for a year before the call came for him to return.
He spent the 2010 season as the co-defensive coordinator at the University of Arizona, helping return the Wildcats to the nation's Top 25 for the first time in over a decade. At CU, he had most recently served as secondary coach for four seasons (2006-09), the last three as defensive passing game coordinator, after returning in 2006 to the state of Colorado for the fourth time in his professional career.
His first year as coordinator was a frustrating one, as due to injuries, at times he had a secondary consisting of converted receivers and walk-ons. While CU allowed 439.3 yards per game, it could have been a lot worse, and the Buffs did close with one of their better defensive efforts of the year, allowing just 274 yards in upending Utah, 17-14.
Brown, 54, had resurfaced at CU in January 2006, named to the staff of new Colorado head coach Dan Hawkins following the completion of the 2005 National Football League season. He wrapped up his fourth and final year as a defensive assistant with the NFL's New Orleans Saints under coach Jim Haslett. In that 2005 season, the Saints' pass defense ranked third in the entire NFL, allowing a paltry 178 yards per game.
A 15-year NFL coaching veteran, developing top notch defensive backs became his specialty as he was often sought after for new coaching staffs around the league, working with six different teams in his professional career.
In his four seasons during his second stint at Colorado, he helped tutor Terrence Wheatley, coaching him to first-team All-Big 12 honors and a second round NFL draft pick by the New England Patriots. He also tutored a pair of young cornerbacks in Jimmy Smith and Jalil Brown, the former a two-time All-Big 12 performer, as well as their coach for the 2010 season, Ashley Ambrose, who Brown recommended to Hawkins as a graduate assistant; he would replace Brown as secondary coach after his move to Arizona.
He coached the secondary for three years (1991-93) at Colorado under coach Bill McCartney, tutoring a pair of Jim Thorpe Award winners during his first days at CU: cornerbacks Deon Figures (the 1992 winner) and Chris Hudson (the '94 winner). Colorado led the nation in pass completion defense and the Big Eight in pass defense in 1992; he also coached the kickoff coverage unit on special teams for the Buffs. He joined the CU staff days after the Buffs won their first national championship (January 7, 1991), and returned to the NFL in 1994, joining the Atlanta staff as defensive backs coach; the Falcons finished second that season in the league with 23 interceptions.
He spent the 1995-96 seasons as the secondary coach for San Diego, with the Chargers finishing in the top five both years in fewest yards allowed per completion. He also coached Rodney Harrison, who eventually would become one of the league's top safeties. He moved on to the Tennessee Oilers, coaching the secondary in both 1997 and 1998; he again coached three of the top defensive backs in the game, cornerback Samari Rolle and safeties Blaine Bishop and All-Pro Marcus Robertson.
In 1999, he served as the defensive backs coach for the San Francisco 49ers; a twist with this was that had he not received an NFL offer, he was set to return to Colorado as a member of Gary Barnett's staff when he replaced Rick Neuheisel in January of that year. He rejoined the Atlanta Falcons as secondary coach for the 2000 and 2001 seasons before moving on to New Orleans, where he was a defensive assistant for quality control in 2002 before being promoted to defensive assistant/cornerbacks coach in 2003, a position he held for three seasons with the Saints.
He began his coaching career in 1981 as a graduate assistant at the University of Texas-El Paso, his alma mater, where he worked with the secondary. The following year, 1982, he came back to Colorado, working that fall as a defensive coach at Green Mountain High School in Lakewood.
He made his first move to the professional ranks the following spring, joining the staff of the Denver Gold of the United States Football League (USFL). He coached the secondary for the Gold for two seasons (1983, 1984) before moving on to the National Football League for the first time in the summer of 1984, joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers staff. For the Bucs, he coached three different positions: defensive quality control (1984), offensive quality control (1985) and the U-backs/tight ends (1986).
Brown returned to the college game in 1987, coaching the defensive backs for two seasons at the University of Wyoming before doing the same at Purdue University for the 1989 and 1990 campaigns. He then returned home to Colorado for a second time in joining McCartney's staff in 1991.
He graduated from the UTEP in 1980 with a bachelor's degree in education (history/physical education). At UTEP, he lettered twice at cornerback under Bill Michael, and received the Coca-Cola Hold Helmet Award for his play against San Diego State in September 1979. He earned his A.A. degree from Glendale (Ariz.) Junior College in 1978.
He was born October 10, 1957 in Denver, and graduated from Arvada (Colo.) High School, where he lettered in both football and track. His father, Irv, is a long-time Denver radio personality and the former head baseball coach and one-time assistant football coach at the University of Colorado. He is married to the former Stacie Bible, and the couple has two daughters, Hannah (11) and Grace (9).
TOP PLAYERS COACHED: All-Americans (2): Deon Figures (Thorpe Award winner), Chris Hudson (Thorpe Award winner). All-Big Eight/12 Performers (6): Ronnie Bradford, Figures, Eric Hamilton, Hudson, Jimmy Smith, Terrence Wheatley. NFL Players/Draft Picks (8): Ronnie Bradford, Jalil Brown, Dennis Collier, Figures, Hudson, Steve Rosga, Smith, Wheatley. NFL All-Pro Performers (15): Ashley Ambrose, Blaine Bishop, Fahkir Brown, Ray Buchanan, Dale Carter, Scott Case, Rodney Harrison, Darrell Lewis, Tim McDonald, Mike McKenzie, Marcus Robertson, Samari Rolle, Kevin Ross, Lance Schulters, Fred Thomas.
RECORD: He has coached in 169 Division I-A games as a full-time coach, owning a record of 70-73-3 (47-60-3 at Colorado, 21-5 at Wyoming, 7-5 at Arizona and 5-17 with Purdue); he has coached in six bowl games, including one New Year's Day. Professionally, he coached in 241 National Football League games, including one playoff game, with six different teams (Atlanta twice, New Orleans, San Diego, San Francisco, Tampa Bay, Tennessee), as well as in 36 United States Football League games with the Denver Gold.
