Former NFL coach Kippy Brown has died at the age of 71, the University of Memphis announced. Brown, a standout quarterback at Memphis before a lengthy coaching career, won Super Bowl XLVIII as the wide receivers coach for the Seattle Seahawks from 2010 to 2014.
Brown began his NFL coaching career with the New York Jets as a running backs coach in 1990. He went on to coach for seven NFL teams, including stints as the Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator and as wide receivers coach for the Detroit Lions, where he worked with Calvin Johnson.
Pete Carroll, who was the head coach in Seattle during Brown's tenure, remembered him as a "great friend" with a "positive, good, fun-loving spirit." Carroll added, "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."
Doug Baldwin, who played under Brown in Seattle, credited his former coach with a significant role in his development as a player and a person. "For me as a young person to have him as my rookie coach, I know I would not have been the player I was if it wasn't for Kippy," Baldwin said. "I owe a great deal to him as a coach who helped me develop as a player, but also the man that he was, the way that he held us accountable as young men, doing it in a way that was considerate, and we knew he was only doing it because he loved and cared about us, I wouldn't be the man that I am today without Kippy Brown."
Brown made history at Memphis State University, now the University of Memphis, becoming the school's first Black starting quarterback. He played 33 games for the team and led them to an upset victory over No. 7 Auburn in 1975. He was inducted into the M Club Hall of Fame in 2016 and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.