Kippy Brown, a longtime NFL assistant coach whose career stretched across multiple stops and decades, has died at 71.
Brown’s coaching path began at Memphis State in 1978, and he later worked at Louisville and Tennessee before landing in the NFL with the New York Jets as running backs coach in 1990. That move opened the door to a long run in the league.
After a short return to Tennessee in 1993, Brown spent time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks. His final coaching job came with Seattle, where he served as wide receivers coach from 2010 to 2014.
Former Seahawks coach Pete Carroll remembered Brown in a statement that highlighted both his personality and the impact he had on the people around him. “He was a great friend to everybody, because he had such a positive, good, fun-loving spirit,” Carroll said.
“Everybody loved being around Kip. And he had a light about him, he wanted to have a good time and have fun and make things pleasant for everyone around him.
That’s why so many people have rallied around him in this last month or so and reached out to (his wife) Deon, being supportive and loving. He was a wonderful person, and my heart goes out to Deon and the family.
It’s a beautiful family.”
Doug Baldwin, who wideout for the Seahawks, also spoke about Brown’s role with the team and the way he fit into the room. “Kippy was the perfect person for us, for our group of guys who came in at that time-myself, Ricardo (Lockette), Jermaine, Golden, Sid,” Baldwin said. “Kippy and Sidney Rice paired really well together as being the elder statesmen in the room, helping us young guys get onboarded into the NFL life.”
Brown leaves behind a long coaching footprint and a wide circle of people who knew him well.
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