Former coach Ron Brown returns to Nebraska football staff

Nebraska football is doing its best Blues Brothers impression.

Ron Brown is once again apart of the Nebraska football staff. This time, he won’t be coaching on the field, but will instead take over the reins of director of player development.

Brown’s the Wednesday announcement marks the third time the longtime assistant coach has returned to Nebraska after a long absence. He first served as an assistant on Tom Osborne and Frank Solich‘s staff but was let go when Solich was fired.

Bo Pelini brought Brown back during his tenure but was again let go when Pelini was fired. In the latest interim, the deeply religious man had been an assistant for Turner Gill‘s Liberty Flames.

Brown had departed Liberty earlier this summer, just one day before the Flames were officially a member of the FBS level.

At the time, and in the days since, it’s been a bit of a mystery why he chose to leave right before Liberty officially made the jump. Right now it’s not clear if this was the plan all along, or whether the Huskers are just finding themselves beneficiaries of his newfound availability.

A release from the university made it clear this will be a non-coaching role, with Brown focused on “mentoring Husker football student-athletes in numerous off-field development areas.” That same release had a quote from head coach Scott Frost saying, “Coach Brown had a tremendous impact on me during my playing career at Nebraska, and I am sure he will have a similar impact on many young men in our football program in the years ahead. Coach Brown understands Nebraska and what makes this a great place for student-athletes to grow and learn in all areas.”

Since Frost took the helm, there has certainly been an effort to “put the band back together” when it comes to former Nebraska football coaches and players. Matt Davison, who was a wide receiver and teammate of Frost left the broadcasting booth in order to take a job in the athletic department.

Next: 10 highest rated Huskers in Madden NFL 19

A little over a week ago, former Cornhuskers’ guard Brendan Stai announced he had been hired to join the athletic department. There are also several former Husker players on the coaching staff as well. Here’s hoping this new attempt at bringing in so many faces familiar to Nebraska football fans works out.