University of Notre Dame Dick Corbett Head Football Coach Marcus Freeman has announced the hiring of Mike Brown as wide receivers coach. Brown will begin his coaching duties immediately and will be with the Irish wideout group throughout the preparations for the 2023 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl.
Brown was most recently the associate head coach and wide receivers coach at the University of Wisconsin for the 2023 football season. He made the move to Wisconsin with head coach Luke Fickell from the University of Cincinnati, where he served as the wide receivers coach (2019-22) and passing game coordinator (2022).
A two-time All-American as a wide receiver at Liberty, Brown spent three seasons in the NFL after signing a free-agent contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Brown played a key role in the Cincinnati offensive development during the Bearcats run to their first-ever 13-0 record and College Football Playoff appearance in 2021. He worked with All-AAC Second Team selection Alec Pierce, who led the team with 52 catches for 884 yards and eight touchdowns. The wide receiver group helped Cincinnati set school records for touchdowns (70) and points scored (516) during the 2021 season.
In his time at Cincinnati, Brown helped develop Pierce (Indianapolis Colts), Tre Tucker (Las Vegas Raiders) and Tyler Scott (Chicago Bears) into NFL receivers. At Wisconsin in 2023, Brown aided the development of Will Pauling, who earned third-team All-Big Ten honors with 66 receptions for 694 yards and four touchdowns. Pauling had 12 catches for 122 yards in 2022.
Brown started his coaching career as an offensive analyst and running backs assistant at Michigan in 2016. He moved to Delaware in 2017, working under head coach Danny Rocco who coached Brown at Liberty. In 2018, Brown moved to his alma mater to coach running backs and was named one of the “rising-star assistants you need to know” by On3 in 2022. He also took part in a Bill Walsh NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2020.
Brown has connections with three members of the current Notre Dame coaching staff. Freeman, Bob and Leslie Mohr Family Quarterbacks Coach Gino Guidugli and Defensive Pass Game Coordinator Mike Mickens were all on the Cincinnati coaching staff for the 2019 season, with Freeman working with Brown in 2019-20 and Guidugli coaching with Brown from 2019-22 in Cincinnati.
The hiring will be effective at the conclusion of the University’s standard employment process.
THE MIKE BROWN FILE
- Name: Mike Brown
- Hometown: Charlottesville, VA
- High School: Monticello High School
- College: Liberty (2011, Finance)
- Wife: Dymond
- Children: Mike III, Drue
PLAYING CAREER
- 2008-11 Liberty (Wide Receiver, Quarterback)
- 2012-14 Jacksonville Jaguars (Wide Receiver)
COACHING CAREER
- 2016 Michigan – Offensive Analyst/Running Backs Assistant
- 2017 Delaware – Running Backs
- 2018 Liberty – Running Backs
- 2019-21 Cincinnati – Wide Receivers
- 2022 – Cincinnati – Passing Game Coordinator/Wide Receivers
- 2023 – Wisconsin – Associate Head Coach/Wide Receivers
BOWLS COACHED IN
- 2019 Cincinnati (Birmingham)
- 2020 Cincinnati (Peach)
- 2021 Cincinnati (Cotton)
- 2022 Cincinnati (Fenway)