NEWS: GREG BROWN JOINS MIZZOU FOOTBALL COACHING STAFF https://t.co/nKnMtp8c7V #MIZ pic.twitter.com/SLSEAOr14J
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) January 4, 2016
Missouri announced this morning that it has hired Greg Brown as cornerbacks coach. From MUTigers.com:
COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Head Football Coach Barry Odom has added Greg Brown to his new coaching staff, as announced today. Brown will serve as Mizzou's cornerbacks coach, and he comes to MU with a long resume of success coaching the secondary at both the collegiate and professional levels, including defensive coordinator stints at both Arizona and Colorado. Two of his pupils (1992-Deon Figures/Colorado and 2014-Gerod Holliman/Louisville), have won the Jim Thorpe Award, given annually to the nation's best defensive back, while a third he coached for three years won the same award the year after he moved to another job (1994-Chris Hudson/Colorado).
Brown is a 36-year veteran of the coaching profession who has spent the last 10 years at Power Five schools coaching defensive backs, which preceded a 12-year run coaching the secondary with five different NFL franchises. In all, Brown has 18 years of college coaching experience (15 with Power Five schools) and 17 years of professional experience (15 NFL, two USFL) to his credit.
He's coming off a very successful two-year stint at Louisville, where he coached the secondary and served as recruiting coordinator for the Cardinals, who have gone to a pair of bowl games after posting records of 9-4 (2014) and 8-5 (2015). Details of Brown's contract will be released once fully executed, along with the completion of human resources procedures.
"Greg's experience is unmatched around the country, and the success he's had with the guys he's coached at every level is so impressive," said Odom. "He always produces very well-coached players who compete at the highest level, and he's got a tremendous track record of developing guys to play at or above their top level. His experience and leadership will be great assets to add to our staff. I've known him for a long time, and he's recognized as one of the best in the business at what he does. He'll bring a tremendous amount of knowledge and respect to our program and university," he said.
Brown is, like many of Odom's hires, quite a veteran. In this three and a half decades of coaching, he's touched virtually every level of the sport -- high school, college (SEC, ACC, Pac-12, Big 12, Big Ten, Mountain West), and two different pro leagues (USFL, NFL).
Brown was Colorado's DBs coach during part of the Buffaloes' elite run in the early-1990s, and he spent time as defensive coordinator for both Arizona (2010) and Colorado (2011-12). His 2010 Arizona defense ranked 28th in Def. S&P+, though nothing was going to save the sinking ship that was Colorado at the end of Jon Embree's tenure: CU ranked 99th and 117th in his two seasons there.
After a year with Nick Saban at Alabama, Brown most recently spent two seasons as DBs coach and recruiting coordinator at Louisville; the Cardinals ranked 20th in Passing S&P+ in 2014 before working through significant turnover and falling to 50th in 2015. Per the 247Sports Composite, Louisville's recruiting class ranked 32nd in 2015 and currently ranks 36th in 2016.
It probably isn't a coincidence that Brown was Ryan Walters' DBs coach at Colorado in the latter portion of the last decade.
This basically completes Odom's defensive staff:
- Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers: DeMontie Cross
- Defensive Line: Chris Wilson
- Cornerbacks: Greg Brown
- Safeties: Ryan Walters
As we work to learn more about Brown, here's an interview from CardinalAuthority: