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Don Brown is in his second season as Michigan's Matthew and Nicole Lester Family Football Defensive Coordinator in 2017.
Brown came to Ann Arbor following three seasons at Boston College, where he served as the DC and linebackers coach. Brown is widely regarded as one of the top defensive minds in the country; his units are known for their attacking style and stingy run defense, with a fierce commitment to a heavy blitz scheme. The team allowed just 13 touchdowns over the first six weeks of the season, surrendered just seven rush yards in the first two contests, and held seven opponents to sub-100-yard rushing performances overall. They played their best football against their biggest opponents, including suffocating the No. 9 Florida State offense to its lowest total yardage figure since 2011 (217 yards) and forcing five turnovers against No. 4 Notre Dame. The team's front seven improved greatly during the three years Brown was at the helm of the BC defense. The Eagles recorded six sacks (last in the nation) the year before his arrival, accumulating just 45 tackles-for-loss for 147 yards. In just one year, Brown helped that number spike to 36 sacks and 88 tackles-for-loss, totaling 371 yards lost, and one year later they group recorded 33 sacks and 89 tackles-for-loss, piling up to 351 yards. In 2015, his final year at BC, the team registered 34 sacks, piling up 115 tackles-for-loss to take 470 yards from their opponents. Brown has been part of a number of championship teams at all levels of college football. He helped Dartmouth to a co-Ivy League championship as an assistant in 1982 and coordinated the Yale defense to an Ivy League title in 1989. He was also a part of staffs that earned conference titles at Plymouth State (Division III; two), Massachusetts (four) and Northeastern (one). For his work in helping to turn the BC program around, Brown was nominated three times for the Broyles Award (2013-15), given to the nation's top assistant in college football, and collected American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) 2015 Assistant Coach of the Year accolades for the FBS. Prior to joining Steve Addazzio's staff at BC, Brown served two years as the defensive coordinator and corner backs coach at Connecticut. The Huskies defense ranked among the nation's top 25 in five major categories during his two-year tenure, including a top-five ranking against the run. During Brown's two-year stretch in Stoors, five defensive players were selected in the NFL Draft, including 2012 first-round selection Kendall Reyes (31st overall). He spent two years at Maryland (2009-10) in the same role, improving the Terps' defense significantly, to top-40 ranks in total defense and scoring defense, top-25 rankings in rushing defense and turnovers gained, and a top-10 ranking in pass efficiency defense. He spent two years at Maryland (2009-10) in the same role, improving the Terps' defense significantly, to top-40 ranks in total defense and scoring defense, top-25 rankings in rushing defense and turnovers gained, and a top-10 ranking in pass efficiency defense. At Massachusetts, Brown was head coach from 2004-08, leading the winningest five-year stretch in school history. The Minutemen tallied a program-best 43-19 record during that span (.694 winning percentage), highlighted by a two-year stretch (2006-07) during which the team went 23-5 overall, with a school-record 12-game win streak capped by a 13-2 record and national championship game appearance in 2006. Brown earned AFCA Region I Coach of the Year honors as a result and collected Atlantic 10 and New England Coach of the Year honors as well. In the four seasons prior, Brown was head coach at Northeastern during a turnaround effort, taking a team that went 2-9 in 1999 to a 10-3 record in 2002, leading the Huskies to the school's lone NCAA Division I-AA playoff appearance. Brown's tenure culminated in a 27-20 overall record, including an 18-7 record over the last two seasons. That season brought Brown the Atlantic and New England Coach of the Year honors as well as New England Football Writers Coach of the Year recognition. During his first stop at UMass, Brown was defensive coordinator from 1998-99, helping the Minutemen to one of the best two-year stretches in school history, highlighted by a Division I-AA national championship in 1998. He spent two seasons as the defensive coordinator at Brown prior to his first stop in Amherst (1996-97). His final year at Brown saw the team post its best record in 20 years at 7-3. Brown coached the defense to a school-record of 28 interceptions and 36 takeaways overall, the second-highest total in program history. As a head coach, Brown led Plymouth State to two Division III playoff appearances in three seasons (1993-95), collecting AFCA District I Coach of the Year honors in all three years. He spent time as a defensive coordinator at Dartmouth (1984-86) and Yale (1987-92), where he also served as the interim baseball coach in 1992, leading the team to a 26-10 season and an NCAA Tournament bid.
Before that, Brown was an assistant at Mansfield University in Pennsylvania (1983), and he began his coaching career as an assistant at Dartmouth in 1982 after coaching and teaching at Hartford High School in White River Junction, Vermont, in the years earlier. Brown graduated from Norwich University in 1977 with a bachelor's degree in physical education and later earned his master's degree from Plymouth State in 1996. He was a star running back and four-year letter winner at NU, from 1973-76 and earned another two varsity letters playing basketball.
Brown was elected into the Vermont Military academy's Hall of Fame in 2007, 30 years after his graduation. Brown graduated from David Prouty High School in Spencer, Massachusetts. He and his wife Deborah have four children and 10 grandchildren.
