Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/155994
| ary Brown figures he has learned a lot over the years about what it takes to be a successful running back. He received some of those lessons while playing for Joe Paterno at Penn State from 1987 to 1990, others during his eight seasons in the NFL and his subsequent career coaching high school, college and now professional football. That's why the former Nittany Lion running back feels he has a lot to offer young players in his capacity as running backs coach for the Dallas Cowboys. Brown joined the team earlier this year after serving the previous two seasons in a similar capacity with the Cleveland Browns, where he worked with such high-profile backs as Peyton Hillis and Trent Richardson. But no matter what level he has coached at, his approach has remained the same. "I have a philosophy of being very detailed in your work, being very disciplined in what you do, focus on everything you need to do and then finish every play, every meeting, every drill, finish everything," Brown said. "So that's probably my philosophy – detail, discipline, focus, finish." That approach should enable him to fit right in with fourth-year Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett, a Princeton graduate who has emphasized the need to ensure that all the little things are done correctly. "I love the way [Garrett] does things. I love the way he approaches his players. I love the way he approaches us as coaches," Brown YEAR ATT YDS TD LG Y/A Y/G PSU said. "I love the way he 1987 42 273 3 80 6.5 30.3 demands the details. I 1988 136 689 6 57 5.1 62.6 love that. I thrive on that." Of course, that strong 1990 82 359 2 32 4.4 51.3 sense of discipline and TOTAL 260 1,321 11 80 5.1 48.9 structure comes from his time under Paterno. The longtime Penn State head YEAR TEAM ATT YDS TD LG Y/A NFL coach helped instill a pen1991 HOU 8 85 1 39 10.6 chant for discipline while 1992 HOU 19 87 1 26 4.6 also acting as a second father after Brown left his 1993 HOU 195 1,002 6 26 5.1 hometown of Williams1994 HOU 169 648 4 18 3.8 port, Pa., for University Park. 1995 HOU 86 293 0 21 3.4 "Coach Joe was a great 1997 SDG 253 945 4 32 3.7 motivator. He was that 1998 NYG 247 1,063 5 45 4.3 father figure," Brown said. "He was the one 1999 NYG 55 177 0 28 3.2 that kept us disciplined. TOTAL 1,032 4,300 21 45 4.2 Even though you didn't understand why he was doing some of the things student, and I'm forever indebted to he was doing at the time, he was just him for that." trying to help you become a better Brown said he's filled with positive person, a better football player, a better . GARY BROWN BY THE NUMBERS Y/G 7.7 5.4 62.6 54.0 29.3 63.0 66.4 59.0 43.4