Harbaugh cites advice of Belichick, other NFL coaches in hiring new DC Don Brown

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Former NFL head coach Jim Harbaugh said he took the advice of current NFL bosses when it came to selecting his new defensive coordinator at Michigan.

Harbaugh officially announced the hiring of Don Brown as the Wolverines' new DC on Monday after the move had been reported over the weekend. And in the announcement, Harbaugh cited the advice of Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Ravens head coach John Harbaugh (Jim's brother), as well as NFL defensive coordinators Bob Sutton (Chiefs) and Vic Fangio (Bears) as part of the reason for bringing Brown aboard.

"We are very pleased and happy to announce that our top candidate and No. 1 choice, Don Brown, has accepted our offer to become defensive coordinator," Harbaugh said in the announcement. "After a very thorough search and talking with those I respect the most in this game, including Jack Harbaugh, John Harbaugh, Bill Belichick, Bob Sutton, Vic Fangio and others, it led me to Don Brown. Everything he has touched has turned to gold. Just look at his track record as a head coach, defensive coordinator and even as a baseball coach. We are beyond excited to welcome this high character, high achieving individual to our program and university. Teaching and player development are synonymous with coaching, and Don Brown epitomizes those qualities."

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Brown does bring a successful track record to Ann Arbor, most recently spending three seasons as the defensive coordinator at Boston College. This season, he's coached the Eagles to be one of the country's top defenses. BC is No. 1 in the country in total defense, allowing an average of just 254.3 total yards per game, and ranks fourth in scoring defense, allowing an average of only 15.3 points per game.

For his efforts, Brown was named the assistant coach of the year by the American Football Coaches Association.

Prior to his time at Boston College, Brown worked as the defensive coordinator at both Connecticut and Maryland. He also was a head coach at the FCS level for five seasons, leading UMass to a national championship game appearance in 2006.

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