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Notre Dame Footall News
January 19, 2007
Notre Dame Names Corwin Brown Defensive Coordinator
Over the last 14 years, Brown has either played for or coached under some of
the best defensive minds in football including Bill Parcells, Bill
Belichick, Romeo Crennel, Herm Edwards, Al Groh and Eric Mangini. Brown has
spent the last three years coaching the defensive backs of the New York Jets
under Edwards and then Mangini. Prior to his NFL coaching duties, Brown got
his first full-time coaching job on Groh's staff as special teams coach at
the University of Virginia from 2001-03. An eight-year NFL career preceded
his move to the coaching profession as Brown was a safety and special teams
stalwart for the New England Patriots (1993-96), N.Y. Jets (1997-98) and
Detroit Lions (1999-2000). He was drafted in the fourth round of the 1993
NFL Draft after a stellar four-year career at the University of Michigan
that saw him win four Big Ten titles and play in three Rose Bowl games.
During his tenure in New York, the Jets intercepted 56 passes, tied for the
fifth-most in the NFL from 2004-06. Of those 56 picks, Brown's defensive
backs were responsible for 46. By contrast, in the three seasons prior to
his arrival, the Jets secondary had accounted for 36 interceptions. Brown
not only helped turn veteran cornerbacks into Pro Bowl cornerbacks but also
took one rookie in both 2004 and 2005 and developed them into solid
full-time starters in their first year. This past season, Brown was one of a
few select coaches retained by Mangini. He was part of a coaching staff that
generated six more wins than the previous year, tied for the second-best
improvement in the 46-year history of the franchise. In 2005, Brown oversaw
a secondary that allowed an average of only 172.2 passing yards per game,
second-best in the NFL, and recorded 18 of the teamıs 21 interceptions. Only
one Jets team in the previous 17 seasons intercepted more passes in a single
season.
Hired originally as the assistant special teams/assistant defensive backs
coach by Edwards on Feb. 17, 2004, Brown was elevated to defensive backs
coach prior to the start of training camp. In his first season with the Jets
he helped a defense that featured seven new starters finish the season
ranked fourth in the NFL in points allowed per game, fifth in rushing yards
allowed and seventh in total yards allowed.
Brown received his first full-time coaching job on Jan. 12, 2001 as he was
one of the initial hires to Groh's coaching staff at Virginia. In three
seasons with the Cavaliers, Brown once again demonstrated his ability to
connect and get the most out of both veteran and young players as well as
scholarship and walk-on student-athletes. He also learned how to hit the
recruiting trail as he was a major reason the Cavaliers were able to attract
some of the top high school talent in the nation.
Brown got his first taste of coaching in 1996 as he served as a volunteer
coach at Boston University while playing for the Patriots. After moving to
the Jets, he was able to develop player evaluation skills as he worked with
the Jets' coaches and scouts at the 1997 and 1998 NFL scouting combines.
A native of Chicago, Ill., Brown was an all-state football player and
lettered in track and field at Julian High School before accepting a
scholarship to the University of Michigan. A four-year letterwinner for the
Wolverines, he was tri-captain of the 1992 team and earned second-team
All-Big Ten honors as a junior and first-team accolades as a senior. Brown
majored in English and received his degree in 1994. Born April 25, 1970, he
and his wife Melissa are the proud parents of one son, Corwin, Jr., and two
daughters, Tayla and Jaedan.
Source: Notre Dame Sports Information Office
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