[15] After one season he did not retain an official role with the team but occasionally helped with practices throughout his tenure as an assistant football coach.

[16] Competing in the Midwest Regional, Yale lost the opener to Clemson, before taking an elimination game against Nicholls State.

In 1993, Brown assumed his first head coaching job at Plymouth State, a Division III school.

[1][3] During his last two years, he led the team to win the Freedom Football Conference (FFC) championship and advanced to the Division III playoffs.

In 2003, he led the Huskies to a third-place finish in the Atlantic 10, and the eight-win season matched the second-most in school history.

[23] In his first year, he led the Minutemen to a 6–5 record, including victories over fourth-ranked Colgate, seventh-ranked New Hampshire, and ninth-ranked Maine.

That year, the Minutemen defeated fourth-ranked James Madison and handed Delaware their worst home loss in two decades, 35–7.

[4] On January 9, 2009, the University of Maryland announced the hiring of Brown as its defensive coordinator, which filled the vacancy created by the departure of Chris Cosh.

[25] The loss of cornerback Nolan Carroll due to a broken leg was cited as a serious detriment for the defense.

[25] The defense struggled to pressure opposing quarterbacks with the implementation of Brown's aggressive, blitz-oriented scheme.

[26] Maryland finished tied for last in the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring defense, allowing an average of 31.2 points per game causing just twelve turnovers, and recording two sacks.

[27] With a year of experience in Brown's defense and a stronger secondary, the unit was expected to improve during the 2010 season.

"[30] Highly touted junior safety Kenny Tate emerged as a playmaker, and Brown praised his play at "virtually every position on the field" as "unbelievable".

[31] Brown was credited with preparing the team well for the 2010 Military Bowl, where Maryland beat the 12th-ranked offense of East Carolina, 51–20.

On December 21, 2015, Brown was named defensive coordinator at Michigan under head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Brown replaced former defensive coordinator D. J. Durkin, who had departed to take the head coaching job at Maryland.

[35] It was announced on January 6, 2021, that Jedd Fisch would name Brown as the defensive coordinator at the University of Arizona.

He has led FBS programs to close to a dozen top-10 national finishes in total defense, with three of those seasons in the top three.

At UMass he coached NFL players such as Victor Cruz, James Ihedigbo, Jeremy Cain, Emil Igwenagu, and Vladimir Ducasse.