Gary Leroy Brown (July 1, 1969 – April 10, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a running back for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for three teams from 1991 to 1999. Brown played college football at Penn State and was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the eighth round of the 1991 NFL draft.[1] He was also the running backs coach at the University of Wisconsin.
| Personal information | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born: | July 1, 1969 Williamsport, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died: | April 10, 2022 (aged 52) Williamsport, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 230 lb (104 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Williamsport Area | ||||||||
| College: | Penn State | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1991 / round: 8 / pick: 214 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| As a player: | |||||||||
| As a coach: | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Playing career
editThis section needs expansion with: What happened at Penn State that led him to be drafted? Also need an elaboration on his eight years in the NFL. You can help by adding to it. (April 2022) |
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 10+1⁄8 in (1.78 m) |
220 lb (100 kg) |
30 in (0.76 m) |
9+1⁄4 in (0.23 m) |
4.75 s | 1.70 s | 2.81 s | 4.65 s | 29.0 in (0.74 m) |
9 ft 3 in (2.82 m) |
17 reps | ||
| All values from NFL Combine[2] | ||||||||||||
Brown played for three teams during his time in the NFL and rushed for over 1,000 yards twice in his career, first with the Houston Oilers during the 1993 season with 1,002 yards and then for the New York Giants during the 1998 season with 1,063 yards.[2]
Coaching career
editAfter retiring from professional football following the 1999 season, Gary returned to Williamsport and was hired as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Williamsport High School, and at Lycoming College from 2003 to 2005.[3] From 2006 to 2007, he served as offensive coordinator at Susquehanna University. In February 2008, he was named running backs coach at Rutgers University.[4] Brown accepted a position with the Cleveland Browns in February 2009, as the running backs coach on Eric Mangini's staff.[5] In February 2013, Brown was hired with the Dallas Cowboys as their running backs coach. In March 2021, Brown was hired as the running backs coach at the University of Wisconsin.[6]
Death
editThe 52-year-old coach and father of three had been in hospice care in his hometown of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, due to ongoing health concerns, which had led to him stepping down from coaching. Brown died April 10, 2022, from cancer.[7]
NFL career statistics
edit| Year | Team | GP | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | HOU | 11 | 8 | 85 | 10.6 | 39 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 4 | 0 |
| 1992 | HOU | 16 | 19 | 87 | 4.6 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 |
| 1993 | HOU | 16 | 195 | 1,002 | 5.1 | 26 | 6 | 21 | 240 | 11.4 | 38 | 2 |
| 1994 | HOU | 12 | 169 | 648 | 3.8 | 18 | 4 | 18 | 194 | 10.8 | 24 | 1 |
| 1995 | HOU | 10 | 86 | 293 | 3.4 | 21 | 0 | 6 | 16 | 2.7 | 7 | 0 |
| 1997 | SD | 15 | 253 | 945 | 3.7 | 32 | 4 | 21 | 137 | 6.5 | 27 | 0 |
| 1998 | NYG | 16 | 247 | 1,063 | 4.3 | 45 | 5 | 13 | 36 | 2.8 | 12 | 0 |
| 1999 | NYG | 3 | 55 | 177 | 3.2 | 28 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career | 99 | 1,032 | 4,300 | 4.2 | 45 | 21 | 84 | 631 | 7.5 | 38 | 3 | |
References
edit- ^ "1991 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
- ^ a b "Gary Brown, Combine Results, RB - Penn State". nflcombineresults.com. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
- ^ "Coaches: Gary Brown". Cleveland Browns website. Archived from the original on November 27, 2009. Retrieved February 20, 2009.
- ^ Brink, Wes. "Gary Brown joins Rutgers staff as running backs coach". Williamsport Sun-Gazette. Retrieved March 1, 2008.
- ^ "Gary Brown to Cleveland Browns". Williamsport Sun-Gazette. Retrieved February 18, 2009.
- ^ Hamm, Drew (March 25, 2021). "Report: Wisconsin has hired former Cowboys RB coach Gary Brown [UPDATE: confirmed by UW]". Bucky's 5th Quarter. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
- ^ Former Houston Oilers running back Gary Brown has died at age 52, reports say