The 'King' and His Dudes: Brown Commands Nation's No. 1 Defense
11/21/2018 10:20:00 AM | Football, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Don Brown gets results.
The University of Michigan's defensive coordinator has coached the nation's top defense in yardage allowed in three of the last four seasons, including one at Boston College before Jim Harbaugh hired him.
The Wolverine defense has had few peers since.
Michigan has led the country in pass defense in all three of his seasons in Ann Arbor, and the Wolverines also lead in total defense and pass efficiency in 2018, as well as being tops with four interception returns for touchdowns. Brown's unit tops the Big Ten in six defensive categories in conference games: scoring (12.8), total (219.3 yards), pass (111.4 yards), pass efficiency (81.6 rating), sacks (3.13 per game) and first downs (12.9 per game).
Harbaugh, after Michigan's 42-7 drubbing of No. 15 Penn State, which had been averaging 33.1 points per game with a Heisman Trophy candidate in quarterback Trace McSorley, broke into song after being asked what stood out most from the pivotal win:
"The most impressive thing for me is Don Brown," said Harbaugh. "I'm reminded of the old jingle in the '70s: 'When you said DON BROWN, you've said it all!' He's the king; he's the king of defensive coordinators. He's so great."
Brown was announced Tuesday (Nov. 20) as one of 15 semifinalists for the Broyles Award given the assistant coach of the year. He was a finalist in 2016. Brown won the American Football Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year in 2015 and is always in the conversation in that regard.
He's something of a rock star in Ann Arbor, where local youths were spotted trick-or-treating as Coach Brown, complete with two prominent features he has in common with Tom Selleck's Magnum, P.I., character: a baseball cap and a thicker-than-thick mustache.
"If he didn't have that mustache," said defensive end Rashan Gary, "he wouldn't be Coach Brown. "You take that moustache off, and it's not Don Brown any more.
"I believe in Coach Brown, and I believe in the defense. It's just fun playing for him. ... He knows we like to have fun, and so it's always good having that type of coach. He makes jokes, but when it's time to get to business, he gets down to business. Having a coach like that makes you want to play even harder for him.
"It's his system and how he cares for the player. He makes you go out every snap and give your all for him."
Brown calls his players "Dudes" as the ultimate compliment, and he recently put a flying chest bump on middle linebacker Devin Bush after a big play. Bush loved that and relishes the opportunities to study the game with Brown or sit next to him to discuss sideline adjustments.
"That's my guy," said Bush, who rarely smiles as widely as he did in saying that.
"That's who I lean on during the game, during the week. That's just the relationship that we have. So, all that you see, that's just our relationship."
Watching Brown connect with his defenders on the sideline is like watching a great professor interacting with his class, like something out of "Mr. Holland's Opus."
"He brings the enthusiasm and energy every single day," said Harbaugh. "I learn so much from Don. Don's the best I've ever seen of any coach, any side of the ball or special teams, that can be standing on the field, know what happened, how a play hurt our defense ... and be able to fix it with a call and know exactly what needs to be fixed and have it without needing to be in the press box or look at the game film after the game.
"There's nobody better. What a phenomenal coach. There's none better that I've ever been around."
Brown, a college coach since 1982, has developed a mother lode of defensive talent with these Wolverines.
Senior defensive end Chase Winovich was the Associated Press Midseason Defensive Player of the Year and is projected as an NFL first-rounder along with juniors Gary and Bush, one of five finalists for the Butkus Award.
Brown has a pair of lock-down cornerbacks in David Long (top-rated nationally for fewest yards allowed per coverage snap) and Lavert Hill (Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist). His third cornerback, Brandon Watson, could start virtually anywhere else and has two pick-sixes. Viper Khaleke Hudson was on the watch list for the Nagurski Award for the nation's top defender.
Strong safety Josh Metellus and defensive linemen Carlo Kemp, Michael Dwumfour and Kwity Paye are having breakout seasons, and versatile Josh Uche has come off the bench to rank sixth in the Big Ten with seven sacks.
Tackle Bryan Mone is stuffing the middle on runs and chasing quarterbacks, while free safety Tyree Kinnel is second on the team with 62 tackles and vastly improved in one-on-one pass coverage. Outside linebackers Devin Gil and Josh Ross contain plays on the edges while lowering the boom with hits.
Brown has gotten them to bond on and off the field, and he's become their tough-love Uncle Don.
"He really cares about you both as a player and a human being," said Winovich. "He's more than just a coach. I view him, honestly, like family, and any player on the defense will testify to that. He has a passion for what he does. When he speaks, you would run through the wall for him, head first, and not question it.
"I love Coach Brown. He's been very instrumental in my success."
Winovich mentioned that Brown was "a major reason" for him deciding to play his senior year rather than enter the NFL Draft.
Kinnel said, "We get the same Coach Brown every day. He brings a lot of passion to the game, a lot of passion to his coaching and his teaching, and I'm just thankful to have had him the last three years. I'm excited, but now that our time's coming down to the end, I'm going to miss him a lot."
Kemp added, "I love the moments when we go back in (after pregame warmups) and he circles the defense up and gives us that pregame talk. It's that juice that you need, and he's fired up. You're like, 'Coach, don't get a heart attack. Keep it contained.' You just want to go out there and give it your all for him. He gives you that extra push right before those final minutes before we go out to take the field."
Harbaugh said someone need be within only 50 to 75 feet of Brown's meeting room to know what's going on: "Paint peels off the walls. Gotta get it repainted every couple of weeks. He's great."
When that was mentioned to Brown, he said, "Projecting, that's a good word. To be quite honest, there's been very little projection with this group. But last Wednesday, we needed just a little bit of a wakeup call to make sure we did things the right way."
Brown emphasized the need to nip problems in the bud during the week, and Harbaugh noted that Brown's also the best coach he's ever worked with in regard to adjustments during the flow of games.
"He already has a call ready to fix the issue," said Harbaugh, adding that those moves cause opponents "to eat it" when they repeat a play that worked only to have it stopped cold the second time.
Brown said of in-game adjustments: "It's the game within the game and, to be quite honest with you, probably the reason I'm still doing this. That's the fun part! You kind of roll your sleeves up and earn your keep. That's kind of the fun part."
He credited this defense with taking quickly to adjustments rather than getting "big-eyed" as they did at times last season (when only one starter returned) after failures.
He told reporters last week: "But with this group, shoot, right to the bench. Sit there, look at you, 'All right, this is what we're gonna do.' (Player response:) 'Good. Let's go.' And that's really been the approach to this point. Now, you hope that keeps rolling for another, whatever period of time. That part of it, just their approach, being able to adjust, I think the confidence in one another and being around the scheme for -- we've got a bunch of guys that know what to do. We go to practice, like I've said it before, pretty darn good. Product is kind of pretty exciting to coach, to be honest."
Winovich explained how his 63-year-old coach is able to relate to players 40 years younger.
"He's got a young soul -- I'll tell you that," said Winovich. "The best feeling is when you're out there and you do something good, and he'll call you 'Bro.' I don't know why, but I just love it. When he said, 'You're an animal, Bro!' That was probably one of the highest compliments I've received here."
Brown seems part Bo Schembechler -- with his decisive, stern manner at times --- and part Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski -- with his handing out the "Dude of the Day" awards and calling players "Dude" to let them know they've arrived.
Winovich added: "I've been a 'Dude of the Day.' I've been a Dude. I've been a Bro. I've accomplished a lot."
He said Brown's enthusiasm rubs off on the Wolverines.
"Everyone loves Coach Brown," said Winovich. "He's liked and respected across the board. He's earned our respect. He's a wizard when it comes to knowing football and preparing for games."
