Don Brown appears headed for the desert.
The former Michigan football defensive coordinator, fired last month, is nearing a deal to take the same position at Arizona under new coach Jedd Fisch, a source told the Free Press.
Fisch and Brown worked together at U-M in 2016 as assistants under Jim Harbaugh. That year, Brown arrived in Ann Arbor with an attack-minded scheme that emphasized man-coverage principles and relied on a heavy diet of blitzes.
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The Wolverines had a top-five defense in each of Brown’s first three seasons at Michigan but slipped to No. 11 in 2019 before bottoming out this past season, when the team finished 2-4 and surrendered 429.3 yards per game.
Brown developed a reputation for maximizing the talent he had at his disposal. In his first four seasons at Michigan, 43 of the team’s 44 starters earned All-Big Ten honors. But the Wolverines’ struggles against elite offenses and poor performances in lopsided defeats to Ohio State tarnished his record.
Then came 2020, which presented a whole new set of challenges. With COVID-19 a disruptive force, Brown cobbled together a patchwork unit after opt outs, transfers and injuries left his defense threadbare and vulnerable. U-M finished near the bottom of the Big Ten in sacks and surrendered the highest number of passes that netted at least 30 yards.
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Brown was fired amid a climate of uncertainty surrounding Jim Harbaugh’s status as head coach. Harbaugh is about to enter the final year of his contract and it’s unclear whether he’ll remain at Michigan beyond next season. A multi-year extension has been offered to Harbaugh. But as of last weekend, it hasn’t been signed.
Brown, 65, was the highest-paid assistant in the Big Ten in 2020 while earning $1.7 million, according to a USA Today database. His contract, which was set to expire in 2022, includes offset language that would mitigate the buyout amount if he obtains work elsewhere.
A native of Massachusetts, Brown has spent the bulk of his career in the New England area and on the east coast while rising from an assistant at Dartmouth to head coach at UMass before becoming a defensive coordinator, first at Maryland and then Boston College.
Contact Rainer Sabin at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @RainerSabin. Read more on the Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Big Ten newsletter.
