With Reported Hire Of Defensive Line Coach Corey Brown, Rutgers Football’s Staff Is Now Complete

UPDATE: Rutgers officially hires Corey Brown, press release here.

Original Story:

On Sunday afternoon, it was first reported by Sam Hellman of 247 Sports that Rutgers was hiring Corey Brown as its new defensive line coach. He spent the past four seasons at Miami (OH) in the same role.

Soon after, it was also reported by James Kratch of NJ Advance Media.

Brown played at Iowa from 1995-1999 and started every game at defensive tackle his senior season, when he produced 52 tackles. He was teammates for that season with Rutgers assistant head coach/offensive line coach A.J. Blazek, who played with Iowa during the 1999 and 2000 seasons, including being captain and an All-Big Ten selection his senior year. Like Blazek, Brown extended his playing career past college ball.

He played five seasons in the Arena league for the Quad City Steam Wheelers at both offensive and defensive line. Brown then transitioned into coaching, beginning as defensive line/strength and conditioning coach at North Iowa Area Community College from 2006-2007. He held the same two roles at Western Community College from 2008-2011, which is also in Iowa. During his time there, six players under Brown’s direction gained scholarships to PAC-12 & Big 12 schools.

Brown then became a graduate assistant at Notre Dame for two years and was with the program during their undefeated 2012 regular season and run to the national championship game, where they lost to Alabama. Beginning in 2014, he became the defensive line coach at Miami (OH), where he has been until his move to Rutgers. Here is video of Brown in action with the Redhawks.

With Chris Ash adding Brown to the staff, there are now seven assistant coaches for Rutgers that either have playing or coaching experience in the Big Ten. Here is a breakdown, including Ash’s prior experience within the conference:

HC Chris Ash - Coached at Wisconsin (DB/DC), Ohio State (co-DC)

OC John McNulty - GA at Michigan (played at Penn State before joined Big Ten)

ST Coordinator/TE Vince Okruch - Minnesota (RB, LB); Northwestern (DL, DC); Ohio State (QC - Kick/D)

Asst. HC/OL AJ Blazek - Played at Iowa; GA at Iowa

RB Lester Erb - 12 years coaching at Iowa (WR, RB, ST)

WR Jafar Williams - Northwestern (ST QC); Purdue (RB) (played at Maryland before they joined the B1G)

Co-DC/DB Bill Busch - Nebraska (GA, OL, Safeties, ST Coordinator); Wisconsin (GA, Safeties); Ohio State (QC)

DL Corey Brown - played at Iowa

It’s been a busy offseason for Ash, who had three assistant coaching positions to fill. John McNulty was formally hired earlier this month, as he returned to the program as offensive coordinator. You can learn more on his offensive philosophy here. With the addition of Brown and Toby Neinas, who was reportedly hired as the tenth assistant earlier this month, the coaching staff is now complete. Neinas has experience on the defensive side of the ball, as well as with kickers and punters. The hires and specific roles of Brown and Neinas have not been formally announced by Rutgers yet. We will provide updates once more information becomes available.