Super Bowl-winning coach Charlie ‘Kippy’ Brown, Memphis’ first Black quarterback, dead at 71

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Super Bowl-winning coach Charles “Kippy” Brown died this week at age 71.

His cause of death is unknown.

Brown began his football career as a quarterback at the University of Memphis from 1974-77, becoming the first Black quarterback in school history. The school inducted Brown into the M Club Hall of Fame in 2016 and he was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2019. He also was honored with the Billy J. Murphy Award.

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Kippy Brown attends a celebrity golf tournament in Franklin, Tenn.

The Sweetwater, Tennessee, native then began his coaching career at his alma mater in 1978. After spending time at Louisville and Tennessee as a wide receivers coach, Brown transitioned to the pro ranks.

With the New York Jets he was the team’s running backs coach from 1990-92. He returned to Tennessee for two years to be the team’s wide receivers coach after his Jets tenure. Brown then returned to the pro level for the rest of his career, except for one year in 2009 when he went back to Tennessee to be a wide receivers coach.

Brown coached for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks. He spent one year as the head coach of the Memphis Maniax of the XFL.

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Russell Wilson talks with wide receivers coach Kippy Brown and Golden Tate during an NFL game.

He was the Seahawks’ wide receivers coach from 2010-14 when they made consecutive Super Bowl runs. Brown coached Doug Baldwin, Golden Tate, Jermaine Kearse and Sidney Rice and was beloved by his players and fellow staff.

“He was a great friend to everybody, because he had such a positive, good, fun-loving spirit,” former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll told the team’s website. “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.”

Baldwin credited Brown with helping him become the man he is today.

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Kippy Brown, running backs coach for the New York Jets, looks on from the sideline.

“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 told the Seahawks website. “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.

“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. 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 is survived by his wife, Deon, and his two children, Jennifer and Jeome.

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