After Pete Golding was promoted to head coach last season, the Rebels’ co-defensive coordinator Bryan Brown also transitioned into a new role as the sole defensive coordinator. Although Brown now serves as the defensive coordinator, he will not be calling defensive plays during games — Golding will still handle that.
From a practical standpoint, Brown said that part of his responsibility is to ease Golding’s burden on day-to-day tasks and make sure that practices run smoothly.
“Coach Golding is calling the plays, but all of the things that I do (are) what he was doing,” Brown said in a press conference on Aug. 18. “It’s preparing for practice, things of that nature — scripting it, and all those things.”
When it comes to games, Brown will assist from the press box upstairs, not the sideline.
“Right now, I’m in the box,” Brown said. “Pete (Golding) will still be, of course, on the field calling (the plays), so I’ll be his eyes in the sky.”
Apart from general assistance, Brown brings a lot of experience to the table. He has served as the defensive coordinator for other programs, such as Cincinnati and Louisville. Because of this experience, Brown had an immediate impact when he joined the Rebels staff in 2024.
That year, working with Golding, the Rebel defense not only led the SEC with 52 sacks, but also boasted the best scoring and rushing defense in the conference.
Last season, the Rebel defense saw a dip in production, finishing in the middle of the SEC standings across nearly every statistical category.
Brown spoke about how another of his responsibilities is to help the defense return to the standard it set in 2024.
“That group in (2024) was really, really talented, and I think (in) this group, we have a lot of talent,” Brown said. “I think we got a little bit more depth, especially up front, and I think, secondary-wise, we got a little bit of depth as well.”
Brown mentioned a few players by name, but he specifically highlighted Baylor transfer linebacker Keaton Thomas, who has stood out as a player and leader in camp and whom, Brown believes, can elevate the Rebels back to that 2024 level.
“(He’s) really, really tough (and) a great competitor who loves the game,” Brown said. “He’s doing a heck of a job of communicating, flying around, making plays and doing his job.”
Brown must also ensure that his defense is accustomed to the difficulties that fast-paced offenses present. Recently, Pro Football Focus ranked the five fastest-operating offenses in college football, and two of the Rebels’ opponents this season, Mississippi State and Auburn, made the list.
To prepare for the challenges those teams and the rest of the SEC pose, Brown has been leading the defense in practices and scrimmages against new offensive coordinator John David Baker’s offense. The offense that Baker inherited is fast, but with Baker at the helm, it is also strong schematically.
“It’s fast tempo. (Baker has) given us so many different looks and so many different things that we have to work (against) each and every day. It’s always something new,” Brown said. “It’s great to have an offense like that, that’s going to make a defense think and use all their rules and tools to be able to be successful on that other side of the ball.”
Overall, despite the minor tweaks in his role, Brown’s goal remains the same — to develop the Rebel defense for success at the highest level.
“I think the number one thing is (that) we want to be physical. … We want to play fast, and we want to make sure we limit explosive plays and play really smart,” Brown said. “If we can do those things … I think it’ll give us a chance to be able to win football games in this league.”
