Robert E. Brannan (November 12, 1891 – August 6, 1958) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach.

He was the first coach in Chicago Bears franchise history, running the team when they were known as the Decatur Staleys in 1919.

[2] According to football legend Walter Camp, the only bright spot for the team in the 1922 season was a guard named Swineheart who "played consistently" for the season.

[4] After coaching, Brannan worked for what later became Union Carbide, Co. until he retired in 1956.

This biographical article relating to a college football coach first appointed in the 1910s is a stub.