Naval Academy head football coach Brian Newberry has added Ricky Brown to his staff. Brown will serve as the coach for the raiders and strikers, as well as the special teams coordinator. Brown replaces Joe Coniglio, who left Navy to coach the outside linebackers for the Los Angeles Rams.
Newberry expressed his excitement about the new addition to the staff, stating that Brown is an outstanding coach and person who will be a great fit with the players and staff. Brown brings with him a wealth of knowledge and expertise coaching special teams and outside linebackers. He has coached and played at the highest levels.
Brown, who new Tulsa head coach Kevin Wilson hired in January as the special teams coordinator and defensive assistant, is equally excited to join the Naval Academy football program. He has always admired the Navy football program and competed against them as a player and coach. Brown considers the Naval Academy a special place and is grateful to join Coach Newberry’s staff.
Brown’s coaching experience includes one season at Cincinnati as the special teams quality control coach in 2022, and two years at Ohio State from 2020-21, where he also served in the same role. Before coaching at Ohio State, Brown was on the staff at his alma mater, Boston College, from 2016-19. He served in a quality control role on defense and special teams in 2016 before being promoted to special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach in 2017 for his final three seasons in Chestnut Hill.
Brown’s extensive coaching experience has produced impressive results. During his first season back at Boston College, the defense recorded 47 sacks, ranking fourth in the NCAA, while the BC special teams ranked seventh for opponent kickoff return average and 10th for punt returns. In 2017, his special teams unit ranked 11th in the nation in punt returns and 22nd for kickoff return yards, while ranking 26th in special teams efficiency. A year later, Brown coordinated a unit that ranked first nationally with three punt returns for touchdowns, was fifth with five blocked kicks, 16th for average punt return yards, 19th for average kickoff return yards, and 30th in special teams efficiency.
Before moving into the coaching profession, Brown played in the NFL for seven years, for the Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, and Baltimore Ravens. He began his collegiate career at Boston College, where he played from 2002-05 as an outside linebacker, winning the Scanlan Award in 2005, the highest honor bestowed upon a BC football player, which recognizes accomplishments on the field, in the classroom, and in the community. Brown graduated with a degree in finance in 2006.
Brown and his wife Brynne have two daughters, Brixton (11) and Koby (6), and a son, Niko (9).