Kippy Brown
Encyclopedia
Kippy Brown is the wide receivers coach of the Seattle Seahawks
. He was a collegiate level starting quarterback
for Memphis State
and has coached in various capacities at both the collegiate and professional levels of American football
. He graduated from Memphis State
in 1977 with a degree in communications
.
winning the 1971 and 1972 state championships. He also helped his prep team lead the state in scoring in 1972 and 1973.
Following a stellar high school career, Brown attended Memphis State University (now known as University of Memphis) where he was quarterback for the Tigers from 1975 to 1977. Brown was an outstanding field general, and his leadership ability combined with his unique scrambling talents and strong arm paid dividends when the Tigers upset sixth-ranked Auburn University
31–20 in 1975. In what was probably the Tigers’ best win during his tenure, Brown engineered this victory by completing seven of 11 passes for 103 yards and two touchdown
s.
at his alma mater
and served as running back
s coach in 1978 under head coach
Richard Williamson and receivers coach from 1979 to 1980.
After coaching two years with the Tigers, he moved to Louisville, Kentucky
to coach receivers
at the University of Louisville
(U of L) Cardinals for the 1982 campaign. One of his pupils was Mark Clayton who later played for the Miami Dolphins
from 1983 to 1992.
Following the ’82 season at U of L, Brown returned to his roots in the state of Tennessee helping coach the Johnny Majors
-run University of Tennessee
Volunteers football team. During his first stint with the Vols from 1983 to 1989, Brown helped Tennessee acquire the nickname “Wide Receiver U.,” coaching numerous pass catchers to greatness. Receivers Anthony Miller, Tim McGee
, Alvin Harper
and Carl Pickens
all benefited from Brown’s tutelage prior to their joining the professional ranks.
Brown caught the attention of the New York Jets
while with Tennessee and coached for the Jets from 1990 to 1992. While with the Jets in 1991, he coached running backs for NY head coach Bruce Coslet
and saw his backs rank fifth in the NFL in rushing
. That 1991 squad also returned to the playoffs for the first time since 1986.
Brown later returned to Rocky Top
when Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer
convinced him to return to the collegiate ranks as assistant head coach and wide receivers coach for two seasons (1993–1994). He brought an offensive flair from the professional ranks to the UT offensive package as the Vols compiled an 18–6 record and outscored their opponents 847–383 over the course of those two years. A young Peyton Manning
also benefited from Brown’s guidance during his freshman
campaign as the Vols’ signal caller.
Following a highly successful 1994 Tennessee season, Brown was again called to the pro ranks, joining Tampa Bay Buccaneers
in 1995. Then-Tampa Bay head coach Sam Wyche
named Brown running backs coach stating, “Getting Kippy is a major coup for us.” While in Tampa
, he also worked closely with former Bucs head coach and former head coach of the Indianapolis Colts
, Tony Dungy
.
From 1996 to 1999, he was on Jimmy Johnson
’s Miami Dolphins coaching staff, where he was the offensive coordinator
from 1998 to 1999 and the running backs coach from 1996 to 1997. In 1996, Brown helped RB Karim Abdul-Jabbar become the first Dolphins running back to reach 1,000 yards in 18 years, and in 1997 Abdul-Jabbar tied a league-high 15 rushing touchdowns.
as running backs coach under head coach Mike Sherman
. Following the creation of the XFL
in 2001, Brown took command of his hometown Memphis Maniax
finishing the year 5–5; second in the Western Division and was the only team to defeat eventual XFL champions Los Angeles Xtreme
twice. The team disbanded after one year as the XFL league collapsed.
After the demise of the XFL, Kippy Brown spent four seasons as the Houston Texans
wide receivers coach. Among his pupils in Texas was WR Andre Johnson
, who was taken by Houston with the third overall pick in the 2003 draft
. Johnson became the first Texans offensive player to earn a trip to the Pro Bowl
, selected for his outstanding 2004 season that included club records of 79 receptions
for 1,129 yards.
Brown arrived in Detroit, Michigan
for the 2006 season with the Detroit Lions
. There, he reunited with Larry Beightol
, with whom Brown worked on the New York Jets in 1990–92, Miami in 1996–98 and Green Bay Packers in 2000. For the 2008 Season, Brown served as Assistant Head Coach/Passing Game Coordinator.
On December 17, 2009, Brown accepted an offer to coach the University of Tennessee wide receivers and also become their "Passing Game Coordinator". On January 16, 2010, after not being named Lane Kiffin
's successor as Head Coach at Tennessee, he left to join Pete Carroll
's staff as Wide Receivers Coach of the Seattle Seahawks.
Jerome earned a basketball scholarship at the University of Tennessee under former Vol head coach Wade Houston
, and competed on the Buy.com
golf
tour. Jennifer studied at Spelman College
in Atlanta, Georgia
.
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
. He was a collegiate level starting quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
for Memphis State
University of Memphis
The University of Memphis is an American public research university located in the Normal Station neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee and is the flagship public research university of the Tennessee Board of Regents system....
and has coached in various capacities at both the collegiate and professional levels of American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
. He graduated from Memphis State
University of Memphis
The University of Memphis is an American public research university located in the Normal Station neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee and is the flagship public research university of the Tennessee Board of Regents system....
in 1977 with a degree in communications
Communication studies
Communication Studies is an academic field that deals with processes of communication, commonly defined as the sharing of symbols over distances in space and time. Hence, communication studies encompasses a wide range of topics and contexts ranging from face-to-face conversation to speeches to mass...
.
Playing career
Kippy Brown began his football career at Sweetwater High School in Sweetwater, TennesseeSweetwater, Tennessee
Sweetwater is a city in Monroe and McMinn counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the most populous city in Monroe County. The population was 5,586 at the 2000 census. Sweetwater is the home of the Craighead Caverns which contains the Lost Sea, the United States' largest underground...
winning the 1971 and 1972 state championships. He also helped his prep team lead the state in scoring in 1972 and 1973.
Following a stellar high school career, Brown attended Memphis State University (now known as University of Memphis) where he was quarterback for the Tigers from 1975 to 1977. Brown was an outstanding field general, and his leadership ability combined with his unique scrambling talents and strong arm paid dividends when the Tigers upset sixth-ranked Auburn University
Auburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...
31–20 in 1975. In what was probably the Tigers’ best win during his tenure, Brown engineered this victory by completing seven of 11 passes for 103 yards and two touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s.
Coaching career 1978–1999
After graduating from MSU in 1977 with a B.A. in Communications, Brown switched gears from playing to coachingCoach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
at his alma mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
and served as running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
s coach in 1978 under head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
Richard Williamson and receivers coach from 1979 to 1980.
After coaching two years with the Tigers, he moved to Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
to coach receivers
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
at the University of Louisville
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
(U of L) Cardinals for the 1982 campaign. One of his pupils was Mark Clayton who later played for the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
from 1983 to 1992.
Following the ’82 season at U of L, Brown returned to his roots in the state of Tennessee helping coach the Johnny Majors
Johnny Majors
Johnny Majors is a former American football player and coach. A standout halfback at the University of Tennessee, he was an All-American in 1956 and a two-time winner of the Southeastern Conference Most Valuable Player award, in 1955 and 1956. He finished second to Paul Hornung in voting for...
-run University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
Volunteers football team. During his first stint with the Vols from 1983 to 1989, Brown helped Tennessee acquire the nickname “Wide Receiver U.,” coaching numerous pass catchers to greatness. Receivers Anthony Miller, Tim McGee
Tim McGee
Timothy Dwanye Hatchett McGee is a retired professional American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League for the Cincinnati Bengals and the Washington Redskins from 1986 to 1994...
, Alvin Harper
Alvin Harper
Alvin Craig Harper is a former American football player in the National Football League. After going 1-15 in 1989 and 7-9 in 1990, the Dallas Cowboys were poised to capitalize on some key draft opportunities...
and Carl Pickens
Carl Pickens
Carl McNally Pickens is a former American football wide receiver in the NFL who played for the Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys and Tennessee Titans....
all benefited from Brown’s tutelage prior to their joining the professional ranks.
Brown caught the attention of the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
while with Tennessee and coached for the Jets from 1990 to 1992. While with the Jets in 1991, he coached running backs for NY head coach Bruce Coslet
Bruce Coslet
Bruce Coslet is a former American college and professional football player and professional football coach. A tight end, he played for the University of the Pacific and in 1969 debuted with the American Football League's Cincinnati Bengals...
and saw his backs rank fifth in the NFL in rushing
Rush (American football)
Rushing has two different meanings in gridiron football .-Offense:The first is an action taken by the offensive team that means to advance the ball by running, as opposed to passing. A run is technically any play that does not involve a forward pass...
. That 1991 squad also returned to the playoffs for the first time since 1986.
Brown later returned to Rocky Top
Rocky Top
"Rocky Top" is an American country and bluegrass song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant in 1967 and first recorded by the Osborne Brothers later that same year...
when Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer
Phillip Fulmer
Phillip Fulmer is a TV college football analyst and the former head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers football team, who compiled a 152–52 record from 1992–2008 as head coach, but was fired during a 5–7 season in 2008...
convinced him to return to the collegiate ranks as assistant head coach and wide receivers coach for two seasons (1993–1994). He brought an offensive flair from the professional ranks to the UT offensive package as the Vols compiled an 18–6 record and outscored their opponents 847–383 over the course of those two years. A young Peyton Manning
Peyton Manning
Peyton Williams Manning is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League . Manning holds the record for most NFL MVP awards with four. He was drafted by the Colts as the first overall pick in 1998 after a standout college football career with the...
also benefited from Brown’s guidance during his freshman
Freshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
campaign as the Vols’ signal caller.
Following a highly successful 1994 Tennessee season, Brown was again called to the pro ranks, joining Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
in 1995. Then-Tampa Bay head coach Sam Wyche
Sam Wyche
Samuel David "Sam" Wyche is a former American football player and head coach, who is best known as the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL...
named Brown running backs coach stating, “Getting Kippy is a major coup for us.” While in Tampa
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and estuary along the Gulf of Mexico on the west central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay."Tampa Bay" is not the name of any municipality...
, he also worked closely with former Bucs head coach and former head coach of the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
, Tony Dungy
Tony Dungy
Anthony Kevin "Tony" Dungy [DUN-jee] is a former professional American football player and coach in the National Football League. Dungy was head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996 to 2001, and head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2002 to 2008...
.
From 1996 to 1999, he was on Jimmy Johnson
Jimmy Johnson (American football coach)
James William "Jimmy" Johnson is an American former NCAA and National Football League head coach. As of 2010, he is currently an analyst for Fox NFL Sunday, the Fox network's NFL pregame show. He was the first football coach whose teams won both an NCAA Division 1A National Championship and a...
’s Miami Dolphins coaching staff, where he was the offensive coordinator
Offensive coordinator
An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of a gridiron football team who is in charge of the offense. Generally, along with his defensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
from 1998 to 1999 and the running backs coach from 1996 to 1997. In 1996, Brown helped RB Karim Abdul-Jabbar become the first Dolphins running back to reach 1,000 yards in 18 years, and in 1997 Abdul-Jabbar tied a league-high 15 rushing touchdowns.
Coaching career 2000–present
In 2000, Brown joined the Green Bay PackersGreen Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
as running backs coach under head coach Mike Sherman
Mike Sherman
Michael Francis "Mike" Sherman is the head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies football team. Prior to coaching the Aggies, he served as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers from the 2000–05 seasons. Sherman led the Packers to five consecutive winning seasons from 2000–04 and three divisional titles...
. Following the creation of the XFL
XFL
The XFL was a professional American football league that played for one season in 2001. The league was founded by Vince McMahon, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of WWE...
in 2001, Brown took command of his hometown Memphis Maniax
Memphis Maniax
The Memphis Maniax was an American football team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The team was part of the XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States...
finishing the year 5–5; second in the Western Division and was the only team to defeat eventual XFL champions Los Angeles Xtreme
Los Angeles Xtreme
The Los Angeles Xtreme was a professional American football team based in Los Angeles, California. The team was a member of the XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States. The team played its home games in the Los Angeles...
twice. The team disbanded after one year as the XFL league collapsed.
After the demise of the XFL, Kippy Brown spent four seasons as the Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
wide receivers coach. Among his pupils in Texas was WR Andre Johnson
Andre Johnson
Andre Lamont Johnson is an American football wide receiver currently playing for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. Through the 2010–11 NFL season, Johnson currently ranks first all-time in NFL history in receiving yards per game for a career...
, who was taken by Houston with the third overall pick in the 2003 draft
2003 NFL Draft
The 2003 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. The draft was held April 26–27, 2003 at the Theatre at...
. Johnson became the first Texans offensive player to earn a trip to the Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
, selected for his outstanding 2004 season that included club records of 79 receptions
Reception (American football)
In American football, a reception is part of a play in which a forward pass from behind the line of scrimmage is received by a player in bounds, who, after the catch, proceeds to either score a touchdown or be downed. Yards gained from the receiving play are credited to the player as receiving...
for 1,129 yards.
Brown arrived in Detroit, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
for the 2006 season with the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
. There, he reunited with Larry Beightol
Larry Beightol
Larry Beightol is an American football coach. He has been inducted into both the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame and the Catawba College Hall of Fame.-Early years:...
, with whom Brown worked on the New York Jets in 1990–92, Miami in 1996–98 and Green Bay Packers in 2000. For the 2008 Season, Brown served as Assistant Head Coach/Passing Game Coordinator.
On December 17, 2009, Brown accepted an offer to coach the University of Tennessee wide receivers and also become their "Passing Game Coordinator". On January 16, 2010, after not being named Lane Kiffin
Lane Kiffin
Lane Monte Kiffin is the current head coach of the University of Southern California Trojans college football team. He was previously the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers college football team, the Oakland Raiders of the NFL, and the offensive coordinator for the Trojans...
's successor as Head Coach at Tennessee, he left to join Pete Carroll
Pete Carroll
Peter Clay Carroll is the head coach and executive Vice-President of the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He is a former head coach of the New York Jets, New England Patriots and the University of Southern California Trojans football team.-Early life:Carroll attended Redwood High...
's staff as Wide Receivers Coach of the Seattle Seahawks.
Family life
Brown and his wife, Deon (Wilson), were married in Memphis in 1974. Deon is a native Memphian who taught locally at Craigmont High School from 1978 to 1981. The couple has two grown children, Jerome, born January 8, 1975, and Jennifer, born July 28, 1980.Jerome earned a basketball scholarship at the University of Tennessee under former Vol head coach Wade Houston
Wade Houston
Wade Houston is a former college basketball player and coach. He was an assistant coach under Denny Crum at Louisville for 13 years until 1989 when he was named the head coach of the University of Tennessee....
, and competed on the Buy.com
Buy.com
Buy.com, Incorporated is an online retailer based in Aliso Viejo, California.Buy.com began by selling computers and electronics in 1997 and has since expanded into many other categories...
golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
tour. Jennifer studied at Spelman College
Spelman College
Spelman College is a four-year liberal arts women's college located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The college is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman was the first historically black female...
in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
.