LINCOLN Ron Brown had accepted that his coaching days were over until his phone rang in December. Bo Pelini was on the other end.
Brown hadn't heard from Pelini in four years, since both were assistants at Nebraska under Frank Solich. Shortly after Solich's firing, Pelini and Brown were also let go. When they parted, Pelini told Brown that if he ever became a head coach, he wanted Brown on his staff.
That long-promised job offer came soon after Pelini's hiring Dec. 2.
"I would never hold a guy to do that four years later," Brown said this week. "We hadn't been in contact really. He kept his word. There are a lot of people he could have hired. By the grace of God, I'm here."
Brown, 51, is the staff's only link to the Cornhuskers' era of dominance. Brown was the receivers coach under Tom Osborne for 11 years, including a stretch that saw the Huskers win 60 of 63 games in the mid-1990s and national championship in '94, '95 and '97. He continued in that role under Solich for six seasons.
As Pelini's tight ends coach, Brown symbolizes a better Nebraska, the Nebraska of old. Pelini wants to take the Cornhuskers back there, and he says Brown's knowledge of the so-called "Nebraska way" is invaluable after the cultural change that took place in four years under Bill Callahan.
"Ron knows what it takes to be successful and knows how to do it the right way," Pelini said. "He demands it of his players. He's an extremely demanding coach. He gets after it. I feel fortunate to have him."
In the 1980s and '90s, the Huskers won with brute strength. Callahan paid lip service to physical football, and his teams didn't play that way.
So, no doubt, the tight ends and receivers got a surprise the first day of spring practice when Brown and fellow assistant Ted Gilmore ran their charges through a crack-blocking drill.
During Brown's first stint at Nebraska, the receivers were some of the toughest in college football. Osborne and Solich relied heavily on the running game, so the receiver's job in those days was to knock over defensive backs, springing the I-backs for long runs. Catching passes was secondary.
Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson's system is flexible, playing to the strengths of the personnel. Watson is willing to air it out. But he showed as Colorado's offensive coordinator that he liked ramming defenses with big running backs.
Brown said he senses Nebraska has the makings for a strong running game this fall. For the tight ends and receivers, that means no more playing patty-cake with defenders.
"It was a physical offense we had under Frank and Tom, and it's something we're capable of doing again," Brown said. "We don't want tight ends running out of bounds unless it's a 2-minute drill. We're looking for collisions. We want to be the most physical football team in the country. Not just the Big 12, but the whole stinking nation.
"A lot of the wins in the past came from out-physicaling people, just whacking people around and wearing them down like a 15-round boxing match. By that final round, guys are starting to collapse after having the wood laid on them all night long. That's the mentality, and you have to coach that."
That coaching started during winter conditioning, Brown said, through hard cardiovascular workouts.
"We told them we're going to invite pain and exhaustion in our lives," he said. "We're not going to let fatigue get us down to our knees. When they're tired, they have to have some mind control and will to them. All that brings out that tenacity and relentless pursuit."
Pelini said Brown's energy and enthusiasm are infectious and just what the Huskers need after losing seasons two of the past four years.
"He represents so many great things about what we're trying to instill in our players, it was a no-brainer to hire him," Pelini said. "Him being out of coaching for however many years, it was crazy."
Brown said it hurt to lose his job after the 2003 season, but he understood the reason.
"If I were Bill Callahan, I wouldn't have hired me, either," he said. "He didn't know me from Jack the bear."
Brown looked into a couple college coaching opportunities and one in the CFL, but none was the right fit. He became state director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and dabbled in broadcasting.
"I had accepted that I would never coach again at the college level, and I was pleased with that. I wasn't going to chase it," he said.
But Pelini pursued him, just as he had said he would.
Now Brown an Ivy League-educated native of New York City is back doing what he loves at the place he loves to do it.
"Even though I didn't grow up here in Nebraska, Nebraska is my home," Brown said. "This is the place I want to be buried. I'm not saying God will keep me here the rest of my life, but this is the place I call home."
University of Nebraska-Lincoln athletics: http://www.huskers.com
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