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Defensive Run Game Coordinator/Linebackers



Next season will be Brian Cabral's 23rd season with the University of Colorado Buffaloes. Over that time, Coach Cabral has seen it all, working under five different head coaches, Bill McCartney, Rick Neuheisel, Dan Hawkins, and now Jon Embree, and serving as interim head coach twice. Brian has guided our program through thick and thin and remains, in the utmost sense of the term, a True Buffalo. Coach Cabral's first stint as interim head coach came in the wake of Gary Barnett's suspension in the spring of 2004. Brian's steady hand helped ease the Buffs through a period of unquestionable turmoil. Immediately after letting Dan Hawkins go last November, CU once again turned to Coach Cabral to lead the team. Not surprisingly to most fans, the team almost immediately got tougher, started running the ball more effectively, and went 2-1 in their final 3 games. While we can only speculate as to what our record last year would have been had they fired Dan Hawkins immediately after the Cal debacle and let Coach Cabral take over, what we can't speculate about is his devotion to CU. Despite being passed over for the head coaching job he clearly wanted, Coach Cabral will stay with CU as a prominent member of Jon Embree's staff.

Family Life
Coach Cabral was born June 23, 1956, in Fort Benning, Georgia, but grew up in Kailua, Hawaii. He is married to Becky Cabral (of CU Alumni Association fame), and they have three grown children, son Kyle and daughters Maile and Mele. Cabral has worked youth camps in Colorado as well as all-Polynesian camps all across the continental U.S. He is a founding board member of the Polynesian Coaches Association, and he is an active member in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. One other less well known fact about Coach Cabral is that he is also a published author of the book, Second String Champion, detailing Brian's important role as special teams captain of the 1985-86 Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears.

Playing Career
In addition to Coach Cabral's stellar record as an assistant at CU, Brian spent his under graduate playing career at CU where he lettered 3 times for Bill Mallory while recording almost 300 tackles, including 25 in a single game. After his career at CU, Coach Cabral was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons where he played for two seasons before moving on to the Green Bay Packers. He later won a Super Bowl with the 1985 Bears, serving as their special teams captain.

Coaching Career
Following his NFL career, Cabral became the inside linebackers coach at Purdue for two seasons. In 1989, Cabral came back to Colorado and tutored the inside linebackers as a graduate assistant under Coach Bill McCartney. Cabral assumed full-time duties in the same capacity in 1990 and has remained the inside linebackers coach ever since. From 1999 through 2005, he also coached the punt return unit on special teams and served as the director of Colorado's summer football camps. He served a brief sting as recruiting coordinator.

Known as one of the top linebacker coaches in the nation, his students have included Matt Russell, the 1996 Butkus Award winner, All-Big 8 performers Greg Biekert, Chad Brown, and Ted Johnson, all of whom went on to stardom in the National Football League, and All-Big 12 linebacker Jordon Dizon, a consensus All-American who was also the Big 12 defensive player of the year for 2007. His recruiting prowess is also well known; notably he recruited tailback Rashaan Salaam, the 1994 Heisman Trophy winner, and Chris Naeole, a 1996 All-American guard.

Notable Players coached or Recruited
While Coach Cabral is still the Buffs' sixteenth all-time leading tackler, he has coached 11 of the top 20 career tacklers at CU, 8 of whom have passed Coach Cabral on including the list. Stand out Buffalo defenders Coach Cabral has tutored include:
Matt Russel - 1996 Butkus Award winner.
Jordon Dizon - 2007 Big 12 defensive player of the year, All-Big 12, Consensus All-American, and leading tackler in the nation.
Greg Biekert - 10-year NFL veteran.
Chad Brown - 3-time Pro-Bowl selection, 2-time All-Pro.
Ted Johnson - 3-time Super Bowl champion.
Roman Hollowell - All-Big 12
Michael Jones - All-Big 12
Jashon Sykes - All-Big 12, current Director of Football Operations at CU.
Hannibal Navies - All-Big 12


Coach Cabral also recruited these two all-time greats:
Rashaan Salaam - 1994 Heisman Trophy winner.
Chris Naeole - 2-time All-Big 8/12, 1996 All-American.

Non-Allbuffs.com Sources:
CUBuffs.com Bio
Wikipedia
Official Pres Release