Brown, Paul E.
Football
b. Sept. 7, 1908, Norwalk, OH
d. Aug. 5, 1991
A quarterback at Miami University (OH), Brown became a successful coach with Severn Prep and Massillon, OH, High School for twelve years, then moved to Ohio State in 1941. After a 6-1-1 record in his first season, the team won 9 of 10 games in 1942. The only loss was at Wisconsin after a dozen players got sick during the trip.
Depleted by the World War II draft, the 1943 squad went only 3-6-0. Brown then entered the service and coached the powerful Great Lakes Naval Training Station team.
In the meantime, plans were being made for a new professional league, the All-America Football Conference, when the war ended. Mickey McBride, owner of the AAFC's Cleveland team, offered Brown an unprecedented $20,000 a year and 15 percent of its profits to coach a team named for him.
The AAFC began operating in 1946, and the Browns won all four of its championships, winning 47 games while losing only 4 and tying 3. Partly because of Cleveland's success, the league folded, but the Browns were among four AAFC teams that were absorbed into the NFL.
Many experts felt that the Browns would have trouble winning in the NFL, but they hardly missed a beat. After defeating the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles 35-10 in their very first game, the Browns went on to win the NFL title in 1950. They won division championships in their first six years and reclaimed the league championship in 1954 and 1955.
Brown basically used a "pass and trap" offense during those seasons, using the passing of Otto Graham to set up draw plays for fullback Marion Motley and, later, Fred "Curly" Morrison. The passing attack used carefully planned pass patterns that were designed to get at least one receiver into the open against virtually any defense.
More important, Brown genuinely revolutionized the whole coaching approach. He hired the first full-time, year-round staff, used films to grade players on every assignment in every game, developed playbooks and meticulous game plans based on scouting reports, and held intensive classroom sessions for his team. No detail was left to chance. Brown's teams practiced recovering fumbles, catching tipped passes, and forming a blocking wall after an interception.
Despite a 167-53-8 record and only 1 losing season in 17, Brown was fired after the 1962 season. A year after he was inducted into the hall of fame, he became coach and general manager of the Cincinnati Bengals, an expansion team in the American Football League, which merged into the NFL in 1970. Brown coached the team through 1975 and had a 55-56-1 record. The Bengals won division titles in 1970 and 1973.
After retiring as a coach, Brown continued to work for the Bengals as general manager and then as a consultant until shortly before his death.