MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin football program mourns the loss of coach Gary Brown, who passed away Sunday at age 52.
Brown served as the Badgers' running backs coach last season, the final stop in a football career that saw him leave his mark on all levels of the game as a player and coach.
"I am deeply saddened by Gary's passing," UW head coach Paul Chryst said. "Though he was only on our staff for a year he had a profound impact on our players and our program. We are all better people for having known Gary. He was a tremendous person, a terrific coach and a joy to be around. He had great energy and passion for life and that showed every day. My deepest condolences go out to his wife, Kim, his children, Malena and Dorianna and Tre, and his entire family, his friends and everyone who loved him."
Information on services for Brown is pending.
Brown joined the Badgers after most recently serving as running backs coach for the Dallas Cowboys in a highly-successful run from 2013 to 2019.
Brown mentored some of the game's best backs during his run in Dallas, with DeMarco Murray (2014) and Ezekiel Elliott (as a rookie in 2016 and again in 2018) each claiming NFL rushing titles under his direction and Darren McFadden also posting a 1,000-yard season in 2015. The Cowboys averaged at least 4.5 yards per carry in each of Brown's seven seasons in Dallas.
He produced two more 1,000-yard rushers in his previous coaching stop, a four-year run with the Cleveland Browns that saw Peyton Hillis pile up 1,177 yards in 2010 and rookie Trent Richardson rush for 1,317 as a rookie in 2012.
Brown's rise to the NFL sideline followed his climb through the college ranks. He spent the 2008 season as running backs coach at Rutgers, which followed a two-year stint as offensive coordinator at Susquehanna University (2006-07) and his first college job, as running backs coach at Lycoming College (2003-05). Brown also helped coach running backs at New York Giants training camp in 2005, then worked with the Green Bay Packers (2006) and Carolina Panthers (2007) as part of the NFL's Minority Coaching Fellowship program.
Brown's first taste of coaching came as offensive coordinator for his former high school program in his hometown of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, from 2000-02.
After starring as a player at Williamsport, Brown went on to play at Penn State and led the Nittany Lions in rushing as a sophomore in 1988.
Selected by the Houston Oilers in the 1991 NFL Draft, Brown went on to an eight-year pro career that included a breakout season in 1993, when he rushed for 1,002 yards and six touchdowns in just eight games. After playing one season with the San Diego Chargers in 1997, he put together another 1,000-yard season with the Giants in 1998, running for 1,063 yards, before retiring following the 1999 campaign.
Brown is survived by his wife, Kim, his daughters, Malena and Dorianna, and his son, Tre.
