The football team officially introduced the now former South Dakota State University defensive coordinator as the successor to Tremaine Jackson.
Clint Brown comes from a ten year career at fellow FCS school SDSU. He was the co-defensive coordinator for his first four years and became the lone coordinator his final six. He found out about earning the job at ACU last Tuesday after interviewing with staff two different times.
Brown said many talks with head coach Adam Dorrel and aspects of the football program excited him for the opportunity to coach the Wildcats.
“His (Dorrel’s) philosophy and the culture he’s building here really interested me,” Brown said. “I felt like for me it was time to move and learn from a new head coach.”
Since 2009, when Brown arrived at SDSU, he helped lead the Jackrabbits to an 83-44 overall record. He coached SDSU to a playoff berth his first year on staff, then from 2012-2018 his team earned a playoff spot each year.
In his final two years, Brown and the Jackrabbits fought their way to the semifinals. They lost to FCS powerhouse James Madison University in 2017, then fell to the eventual national champion North Dakota State University this past season.
The Jackrabbits finished the 2018 season at fourth in the Missouri Valley Football Conference in points allowed per game with 22.3. They were also third in interceptions as they grabbed 17 total on the year. Overall, they finished second in the conference behind NDSU with a 6-2 Missouri Valley record and a 10-3 overall record.
He now joins a Wildcat team that completed its first winning season since transitioning to Div. I both in conference (5-4) and overall (6-5). ACU’s defense stood its ground allowing 385.5 yards per game good enough for third in Southland. The Wildcats also finished fourth in point allowed per game with 26.9.
Brown gets to work with a talented group of returning defenders including soon to be seniors safety Bolu Onifade and linebacker Jeremiah Chambers. He said he doesn’t plan on making big changes in ACU’s defensive scheme and looks forward to working with the players.
“We just need to continue to build on what they’ve already built,” Brown said. “The scheme is not going to change drastically, there will be some tweaks, but if it isn’t broke don’t fix it. There’s a lot of talent in this group, but in the end, mental and physical effort is going to win us the game.”
The South Dakota native has already been with the team for a week and he will get his first look at the Wildcats later in February when spring football begins.
