Biography

Gerald Brown returns for his fourth season as the running backs coach in 2011. Under Brown’s guidance, the Falcons have had one of the top running games over the last three years and will look to continue to improve in 2011. In Brown’s three seasons in Atlanta, he has helped produce Pro Bowl appreances for RB Michael Turner (2008, 2010) and FB Ovie Mughelli (2010).

Last year, the Falcons backfield provided a perfect balance to the passing attack. With Turner, Jason Snelling and Mughelli spearheading Atlanta’s ground game, the Falcons rushed for 1,891 total yards with 14 touchdowns. For the third consecutive season, Turner led the the Falcons in rushing. He carried the ball 334 times for an NFC-high 1,371 yards with 12 touchdowns and his performance garnered him his second Pro Bowl nod of his career.

Under the tutelage of Brown, Turner has become one of the best and most consistent backs in the NFL since 2008. Over the last three seasons, Turner ranks third in the NFL in rushing yards (3,941), second in touchdowns (39), third in runs of 10-or-more yards (100) and third in rushing first downs (71).

Turner’s backfield mate Mughelli was a main reason he was able to find holes to run through. Mughelli’s crushing blocking cleared allies for Turner and Snelling to run through all year long, while he added 36 rushing yards and 13 receptions for 126 yards and one touchdown of his own. Mughelli earned his first career Pro Bowl selection for his efforts.

Following up his solid performance in 2009, Snelling produced another productive season in 2010. Snelling led all running backs with a career-high 44 catches, which was third on the Falcons, for a career-high 303 yards with three touchdowns. He also added 324 rushing yards on 87 carries with two touchdowns to help out the ground game. Snelling was also selected as NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts against the Arizona Cardinals (9/19) when he compiled 129 yards on 24 carries with one touchdown. He also added 57 yards on five catches and one touchdown, totaling a career-high 186 all-purpose yards.

Brown’s diligent work with running back Jason Snelling and Snelling’s emergence as a solid contributor to fellow runner Michael Turner was one of the highlights of the Falcons offense in 2009. When Turner was forced out from the lineup due to injury for five games, Snelling picked up his game, establishing new career-highs in carries (142), and rushing yards (613), while hauling in 30 receptions (30), for 259 receiving yards and five total touchdowns. Snelling topped off his best season as a pro with a career-best 147 rushing yards in the season finale win at Tampa Bay.

Although Turner was limited to 11 games played, he was a force when healthy due to Brown’s positive influence. Turner scored 10 touchdowns and finished with a team-leading 871 yards for a personal-best (as a full-time runner) 4.9 yards per carry average.

Brown’s first year in charge of Falcons running backs in 2008 was also Turner’s first shot at being a full-time starter in the NFL. Both experiences proved to be very successful. Turner finished second in the League behind Adrian Peterson in Minnesota (by just 61 yards) with 1,699 rushing yards and set a franchise record with 17 rushing touchdowns. The 1,699 yards is the third-best season totals all-time in Falcons annals.

Under Brown’s leadership, Turner’s breakout year also included eight, 100-yard rushing games with a pair of impressive 200-plus yard contests. In his first game in a Falcons uniform, Turner shattered the team record for rushing yards in a game with 220 in a victory over the Detroit Lions. He then ended the regular season in similar fashion with a 208-yard outing against St. Louis. Turner was second in the NFL in MVP voting, earned a Pro Bowl nod for the first time in his career, and captured NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors three times.

Brown’s handiwork was also witnessed through his guidance with the dangerous Jerious Norwood in ’08. Norwood averaged 5.1 yards per carry with his 489 yards on 95 carries and four touchdowns while also ending up fourth on the team in receptions with 36 for 338 more yards and two scores. Norwood and Turner also combined to register 62 rushes of 10-plus yards with Turner’s 45 leading the NFL.

Before coming to Atlanta, Brown’s coaching career spanned 22 years, including the previous six seasons at Indiana University.

Brown’s coaching performance at Indiana in his first five seasons earned him the Assistant Head Coach title on top of his duties as Special Teams Co-Coordinator and Running Backs Coach in 2007. The Hoosiers ranked third in the Big Ten in scoring offense in 2007 (31.7 points per game) while the team logged 157.4 rushing yards per game. With an assist from Brown, Indiana kicker Austin Starr led the conference in field goal percentage with a 91.3 mark (21 of 23). In 2006, Marcus Thigpen led the nation in kickoff return average (30.1) while the university led the nation in the category in 2004.

In Brown’s first five seasons at IU, Hoosier running backs averaged 1,549 rushing yards per season. In his first year (2002), Indiana gained 1,398 yards despite not having a running back with more than 90 career carries entering the ’02 campaign. In 2003, BenJarvus Green Ellis became the seventh true freshman in Indiana history to rush for 100 yards in a game and just the third freshman to eclipse the 200- yard plateau in a single-game.

Prior to his stint at Indiana, Brown served as the Running Backs Coach for the Memphis Maniax of the XFL. His feature running back was former Heisman Trophy award winner Rashaan Salaam who held the league rushing lead before suffering an injury halfway through the season. Under Brown, the Maniax led the XFL in total offense, finishing second in rushing offense while averaging over 100 yards per game.

Brown calls the state of Tennessee home as the Sweetwater native spent his first 17 years of coaching in the state following his graduation from Memphis State University in 1982. For 10 seasons (1989- 98), he was an assistant coach at Tennessee Tech University, serving in a capacity of roles including: Wide Receivers Coach, Special Teams Coach and Quarterbacks Coach with the Golden Eagles.

Tennessee Tech pieced together two of its best seasons while Brown was a member of the staff. From 1992-1993, the Golden Eagles posted a 15-7 overall record and a 13-3 mark in the Ohio Valley Conference. Brown also received two minority coaching fellowships with the New York Jets (1990) and the Miami Dolphins (1996). During those internships, he worked with some of the NFL’s best receivers, including Al Toon, Rob Moore and Terence Mathis of the Jets and Fred Barnett, O.J. McDuffie and Charles Jordan of the Miami Dolphins.

In 1983, Brown got his coaching start at the University of Tennessee where he began as a graduate assistant. In 1984, he became an administrative assistant and served as the Volunteers’ scout and computer analyst. Brown was part of a Tennessee coaching staff for six seasons (1983-1988) and worked with seven All-America selections, including Reggie White, Tim McGee and Anthony Miller.

Brown played as a wide receiver from 1979-1981 at Memphis State University and graduated as a scholar-athlete in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in marketing/transportation.

Brown and his wife, Jill, have one daughter, Caitlin.

Brown's Coaching Background

• 2008-2011 -- Running Backs // Falcons
• 2007 -- Asst. Head Coach/Special Teams Coord./Running Backs // Indiana
• 2006 -- Special Teams Coordinator/Running Backs // Indiana
• 2002-2005 -- Running Backs // Indiana
• 2001 -- Running Backs // Memphis Maniax (XFL)
• 1989-1998 -- Assistant Coach // Tennessee Tech
• 1983-1988 -- Graduate Assistant // Tennessee