Gary Brown, who coached the Cowboys running backs for seven seasons, passed away Sunday at the age of 52.
As reported by Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Brown had been battling cancer.
“Gary Brown had a big heart partnered with a big smile and a big personality,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said as part of a statement Sunday night. “His energy and spirit were infectious. He lit up every room he walked into and touched the lives of those who knew him, loved him.”
Brown played running back in the 1990s, spending time with the Oilers, Chargers, and Giants over eight seasons. After returning to both the high school and college ranks to begin a coaching carer, he worked his back to the pros on Eric Mangini’s staff in Cleveland in 2009.
The Cowboys hired Brown in 2013; he was in Dallas through the 2019 season. He most recently served as running backs coach for Wisconsin, hired in Madison in March 2021. He did not travel with the Badgers to their bowl game this past December due to cancer treatments.
Former Dallas Cowboys running back coach Gary Brown, who spent this past year coaching running backs at Wisconsin, passed away tonight. He was in hospice for the last couple of weeks at in hometown in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Brown was a star running back at Penn State. RIP
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) April 11, 2022
Over Brown’s seven seasons as running backs coach in Dallas, Cowboys ball carriers won three NFL rushing crowns.
DeMarco Murray notched back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2013 and 2014, led the league in rushing yards in 2014, and was named the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award in 2014. He earned three Pro Bowl nods for his play.
Great Father, Husband, Coach, and Mentor. Appreciate you and your family more than anything GB… Thank you for teaching me the way on the field and in life. Appreciate you Gary Brown. 🙏🏾
— DeMarco Murray (@DeMarcoMurray) April 11, 2022
Ezekiel Elliott won the rushing title in two of his first three seasons and went to three Pro Bowls, all under Brown’s tutelage.
Brown had an especially tight bond with his backs, something TV viewers got to see during the 2018 Amazon series All or Nothing: A Season with the Dallas Cowboys.
Sad to hear of the passing of former Cowboys running backs coach Gary Brown. This moment at the end of 2019 sticks with me the most. pic.twitter.com/N3nKAsS3Gm
— Maitland Rutledge (@Maitland__R) April 11, 2022
Brown had been diagnosed twice with cancer, the first time while he was in Cleveland. He underwent chemotherapy and surgery and was given a clean bill of health.
He received his second diagnosis just after the Cowboys’ coaching change in early 2020. A malignant tumor was found near Brown’s pancreas.
After taking a year off, Brown joined the Wisconsin staff for the ’21 season, even as he went through immunotherapy.
“When you’re sitting by yourself and you’re alone and you’re thinking about what’s next,” he said per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “you really think about the things that could be taken away. Not only football but your family and your friends.
“It’s going to do one of two things to you. It’s going to eat you up and you’re going to fold up and go into a corner and die, or you’re going to fight. My parents raised me to fight.”
Brown is survived by a wife, two daughters, and a son.
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