Vincent Brown | North Carolina A&T

North Carolina A&T Director of Athletics Earl M. Hilton III announced on January 6, 2023 that he appointed Vincent Brown to lead the Aggies football program as its new head coach. Brown became the 22nd head coach in program history.

A native of Atlanta, Ga., who became a 1988 second-round draft pick of the New England Patriots and a three-time All-Pro linebacker, Brown spent the previous four seasons before coming to A&T as William & Mary's associate head coach, defensive coordinator and 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 title and reached the NCAA Division I-FCS playoff quarterfinals. 

Brown led an opportunistic defense in 2022. The Tribe led the nation in fumble recoveries (15) and ranked sixth nationally in turnovers gained (25). William & Mary also had the sixth-best third-down defense in the country, allowing opponents only to convert 31.5 percent of their third-down opportunities. The Tribe's defense topped the CAA in third-down defense, fumbles recovered, red zone defense and turnovers gained.

In addition, William & Mary sophomore linebacker John Pius received CAA defensive player of the year honors, and defensive back Jalen Jones claimed defensive rookie of the year. Pius joined three other Trible players on the CAA's first-team all-conference defense. Meanwhile, Jones joined two of his teammates as second-team all-conference members. 

Brown has also made Division I collegiate coaching stops at Howard University (2017-18), UConn (2014-16), the University of Virginia (2010-13) and the University of Richmond (2008-09). He coached linebackers at Richmond when the Spiders won the FCS national championship in 2008. In the process, he coached All-America linebacker Eric McBride. He coached three All-CAA selections in 2009.  

In addition, he served as a graduate assistant at UVa., in 2007 after serving as the Dallas Cowboys inside linebackers coach 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 was also the school's assistant athletics director for one year.

Brown earned NFL All-Pro honors for three straight seasons from 1991-93 before retiring as a New England Patriot in 1995. Brown played collegiately at Mississippi Valley State, earning Kodak All-America honors as a senior in 1987. He was a second-team Associated Press All-American as a junior. A three-time all-conference pick, Brown set a school record for career tackles (570), leading the team in his final three seasons in that statistical category. He graduated with a degree in criminal justice.

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