Don Brown

Donald A. Brown Jr. (born July 31, 1955) is an American college football coach and former player. He was most recently the head football coach for the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a position he held from 2004 to 2008 and again from 2022 to 2024. In between his two stints as UMass, Brown was the defensive coordinator at the University of Maryland, College Park, the University of Connecticut, Boston College, the University of Michigan, and the University of Arizona. He served as the head football coach at Plymouth State University from 1993 to 1995 and Northeastern University from 2000 to 2003. Brown was also the interim head baseball coach at Yale University in 1992, tallying a mark of 26–10.

Early life and college Brown was born in Spencer, Massachusetts, where he attended David Prouty High School. He went on to play football as a fullback at Norwich University. He served as team captain during his senior season in 1976. Brown graduated in 1977. In 1996, he earned a master's degree from Plymouth State University. In 1979, he was promoted to head baseball coach following the resignation of Bob Potter but still served as an assistant football coach under him. He resigned from coaching all three sports in 1982 to accept a part-time football position for Dartmouth.

Brown taught physical education while coaching for Hartford. The team won the Ivy League and finished with a 5–5 record. He was hired as the defensive coordinator for Mansfield under first-year head coach Tom Elsasser in 1983. In 1984, he returned to Dartmouth as the team's defensive backs coach. He was fired alongside the rest of the coaching staff aside from one after Joe Yukica was fired. After being highly recommended by Yukica, Brown was hired for the same position for Yale. In 1989, he was promoted to defensive coordinator. Yale baseball In 1988, Brown served as the junior varsity head coach and assistant varsity baseball coach for Yale. After one season he did not retain an official role with the team but occasionally helped with practices throughout his tenure as an assistant football coach. Competing in the Midwest Regional, Yale lost the opener to Clemson, before taking an elimination game against Nicholls State. The Bulldogs were then eliminated by UCLA.

Plymouth State In 1993, Brown assumed his first head coaching job at Plymouth State, a Division III school. Brown was named the FFC Coach of the Year in all three of his seasons at Plymouth State. In 1994, he was also named the American Football Coaches Association District I Coach of the Year. In his second season, Brown posted its best record (7–5) in 20 years, led the nation with a school record 28 interceptions, and ranked second in takeaways with 36. Opponents scored an average of 19.4 points per game. That year, UMass won the Division I-AA national championship. In 1999, they earned a share of the Atlantic 10 championship and secured another berth in the Division I-AA playoffs.

UMass In 2004, Brown returned to UMass to take over as its head coach. During his tenure as head coach from 2004 to 2008, UMass posted the best five-year record in school history, 43–19.

Second stint as assistant coach Maryland On January 9, 2009, the University of Maryland announced the hiring of Brown as its defensive coordinator, which filled the vacancy created by the departure of Chris Cosh. Maryland paid UMass a $25,000 buyout in accordance with the terms of Brown's contract. With a dearth of experience and talent, especially on the offensive line, Maryland suffered a 2–10 record during the 2009 season. The loss of cornerback Nolan Carroll due to a broken leg was cited as a serious detriment for the defense. Maryland finished tied for last in the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring defense, allowing an average of 31.2 points per game causing just twelve turnovers, and recording two sacks. The lower-than-expected figures were attributed to a lack of players suited to the defensive scheme.

With a year of experience in Brown's defense and a stronger secondary, the unit was expected to improve during the 2010 season. Maryland rebounded with a 9–4 record and a bowl game victory, with a markedly improved defense. The Washington Post described Brown's scheme as "organized chaos" and "blitzing nearly 85 percent of the time." Highly touted junior safety Kenny Tate emerged as a playmaker, and Brown praised his play at "virtually every position on the field" as "unbelievable". Brown was credited with preparing the team well for the 2010 Military Bowl, where Maryland beat the 12th-ranked offense of East Carolina, 51–20. After the season, head coach Ralph Friedgen was fired, and Brown stated a desire to remain at Maryland on the next coaching staff. He kept that position until December 19, 2012, when he was hired to serve the same position at Boston College.

Michigan On December 21, 2015, Brown was named defensive coordinator at Michigan under head coach Jim Harbaugh. Brown replaced former defensive coordinator D. J. Durkin, who had departed to take the head coaching job at Maryland. Brown was fired from Michigan on December 22, 2020, after five seasons. Under Brown, Michigan's defense was ranked 2nd (2016), 6th (2017), 8th (2018) and 10th (2019) but dropped to 56th in 2020.

Arizona It was announced on January 6, 2021, that Jedd Fisch would name Brown as the defensive coordinator at the University of Arizona. After taking over, he improved Arizona’s defense from the previous 2020 season, which was the 100th-ranked defense, to the 57th-ranked total defense.

Second stint at UMass In November 2021 UMass, now an FBS independent, again hired Brown as its head coach. The Minutemen are a combined 4–20 in Brown's two seasons, showing improvement from 1–11 in 2022 to 3–9 in 2023.

On November 18, 2024, Brown was fired after a 2–8 start to the 2024 season and a 6–28 overall record.

Third stint as assistant coach Syracuse In 2025, Brown began working with the Syracuse Orange football program as a consultant. Franklin High School In 2026, Brown became an assistant coach for the Franklin High School School Varsity Baseball Team. He works for his son Zach Brown who is the head Coach.

Coaching philosophy Brown is regarded as one of the top defensive minds in the country. He has led FBS programs to close to a dozen top-10 national finishes in total defense, with three of those seasons in the top three. He is known for coaching aggressive, high-energy, hard-hitting defenses. Sometimes nicknamed “Dr. Blitz” for his defenses always being on the attack, he is also known for being a players' coach. He believes in players taking accountability for themselves and each other, and in leaders rising as a result. Brown stresses discipline, technique, and fundamentally sound football.

Development Brown is known for maximizing players' potential and developing players to the next level. He has coached over 50 All-Big Ten and numerous other all-conference players. He has coached numerous NFL players and coached seven All-Americans: Devin Bush Jr., Lavert Hill, Chase Winovich, Chris Wormley, and consensus picks Maurice Hurst Jr., Jourdan Lewis, and Jabrill Peppers. At UMass he coached NFL players such as Victor Cruz, James Ihedigbo, Jeremy Cain, Emil Igwenagu, and Vladimir Ducasse.

Head coaching record Head coaching record

Fired after 10 games.