A&T Welcomes New Head Football Coach Vincent Brown to AggieLand!!

EAST GREENSBORO North Carolina A&T Director of Athletics Earl M. Hilton III announced Friday that he has named Vincent Brown to lead the Aggies football program as its new head coach. Brown becomes the 22nd head coach in program history.

A&T will hold an introductory press conference for Coach Brown at 1:00 PM on Monday, January 9th in the Deese Ballroom inside the Student Center on campus.

Brown is a native of Atlanta, Ga., who became a 1988 second-round draft pick of the New England Patriots and a three-time All-Pro player. linebackers coach. In 2022, the Tribe went 11-2 overall and 7-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). The Tribe won a share of the regular season championship and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I-FCS playoffs.

“When we were looking for a head coaching roster, Vincent Brown checked all the boxes when it comes to North Carolina A&T football entering the Colonial Athletic Association. He is a great fit for our university, our athletics department and our youth. Coach Brown has considerable knowledge and understanding of what it takes to win at Colonial. He has extensive and proud history with HBCUs and has played and coached at the NFL level.

North Carolina A&T football has always been about greatness and championship competition. We expect the winning tradition to continue with Coach Brown’s experience.”

Brown led an opportunistic defense last season. The Tribe led the nation in fumble recoveries (15) and ranked sixth nationally in turnovers (25). William & Mary also had the nation’s sixth-best third-down defense, allowing opponents to convert just 31.5 percent of their third-down situations. The Tribe’s defense topped the CAA in third down defense, fumble recovery, red zone defense and turnovers.

In addition, William & Mary sophomore linebacker John Pius received CAA Defensive Player of the Year honors, and defensive back Jalen Jones was named Defensive Rookie of the Year. Pius joined three other Trible players on the CAA’s first-team all-conference defense. Jones, meanwhile, joined two of his teammates as second-team all-conference members.

“I am humbled and honored to be in this position to lead this program,” Brown said. “Thank you to Chancellor (Harold L. Martin) and Director of Athletics Hilton and everyone involved in the search process for trusting the future of these young men in our hands. Thank you to my wonderful wife Chandra and our children; this would not be possible without you. I love you. Thank you to the wonderful coaches who have influenced my life over the years, especially Al Groh, Bill Parcells, and Mike London.Thank you for your guidance.

Our goal as a football program is to be excellent and act in accordance with the university’s core values. We want to be successful in the classroom, in the community and on the field, constantly competing for championships. The program is run with passion, purpose and integrity so that faculty, staff, students and alumni can shout Aggie Pride and know that we represent them well.”

Brown also made Division I coaching stops at Howard University (2017-18), UConn (2014-16), University of Virginia (2010-13) and University of Richmond (2008-09). He also served as a graduate assistant at UVa. in 2007 after serving as the linebackers coach with the Dallas Cowboys in 2006. His previous coaching experience includes a four-year stint as an assistant coach at Meadowcreek High School near Atlanta. At the same time, he also served as the school’s assistant athletic director for a year.

Brown earned NFL All-Pro honors in three consecutive seasons from 1991 to 1993 before retiring as a New England Patriot in 1995. Brown played collegiately at Mississippi Valley State and earned Kodak All-America honors as a senior in 1987. He was second team Associated Press All-American as a junior. A three-time all-conference selection, Brown set the school record for career tackles (570) and led the team in that stat category in his final three seasons. He graduated with a degree in criminal law.

Brown and his wife Chandra have four children: Dane, Vincent II, Raven and Jorian.