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Defensive Coordinator


As Coach Embree builds his staff, a number of familiar names have returned to The University of Colorado. Included on that list is Greg Brown, a long time CU assistant, former NFL coach, and most recently University of Arizona's co-defensive coordinator. Brown will once again be responsible for mentoring defensive players--and specifically defensive backs, a job he has done successfully at CU in the past. At CU, Brown mentored such greats as: Deon Figures, Chris Hudson, and more recently Terrence Wheatley.

Family Life:
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 (8) and Grace (6). After Arvada High School, Coach Brown took his talents to Glendale Community College before heading to UTEP to finish his college playing career.

Early Coaching Career:
Greg Brown began his coaching career immediately after he graduated from UTEP, stepping into the role of graduate assistant and tasked with working with the secondary. The next year he returned to Colorado as a high school coach. In 1983 Coach Brown moved to the pros, where he coached with the Denver Gold of the USFL for two years before heading to the NFL for 3 seasons with the Tampa Bay Bucs. In 1987, Coach Brown came back to the college ranks, first with the University of Wyoming and then with Purdue as defensive backs coach for both schools. Eventually Greg Brown's career brought him to CU start after the national championship season. Brown joined Bill McCartney's staff coaching, you guessed it, defensive backs. His second stint at CU lasted for three years before Coach Brown once again returned to the NFL. Over the next ten seasons Coach Brown remained in the NFL working with the Titans, Falcons, Niners, Chargers, and Saints. During that period, he coached some of the game's best defensive backs, including: Samari Rolle, Rodney Harrison, Blaine Bishop, and Marcus Robinson.

Return to CU and Late Career:
Brown rejoined the CU staff under coach Dan Hawkins following the completion of the 2005 NFL season. In his first two seasons back with 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. In his final year, he coached cornerback Cha'Pelle Brown to second-team All-Big 12 honors, with three other secondary players earning honorable mention. Coach Brown's final year at CU was in 2009 where he became heavily involved in the day-to-day operation of the defense after a lopsided loss to Toledo. The teams significant overall improvement on defense as the season progressed was noticeable to CU fans and apparently Mike Stoops down in Arizona, where he was promptly hired as co-defensive coordinator.

Notable Players coached or recruited:
Deon Figures - Thorpe Award winner
Chris Hudson - Thorpe Award winner
Terrance Wheatley - All-Big 12
Cha'pelle Brown - All-Big 12
Ronnie Bradford - All-Big 8
Eric Hamilton - All-Big 8

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