Source: Don Brown expected to be Yale's next football coach

UConn defensive coordinator Don Brown is expected to be named the 34th coach in the history of the Yale football program a source close to search committee confirmed to the Register on Monday.

Brown was the defensive coordinator at Yale under Carm Cozza from 1987-92 and received a ringing endorsement from Cozza as a search committee looked for Tom Williams’ replacement.

The source said he spoke to two people close to the Yale football program and both confirmed that “he is the guy.” Yale officials stressed that "it is not a done deal" and that Yale has not yet hired Brown to be the coach.

Brown, 56, was a leading candidate for the job back in 2008 when he was the head coach at UMass before he pulled his name out of contention. Not only does Brown have ties to Yale but he also fit the search committee’s criteria of having previous head-coaching experience. Brown compiled a 95-45 record in head-coaching stints at Plymouth State, Northeastern and UMass. He was also Yale’s interim baseball coach in 1992, posting a 26-10 record and leading the Bulldogs to the Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League title.

He guided Plymouth State to two straight Freedom Conference titles and was a three-time coach of the year in the conference. He earned Atlantic-10 Coach of the Year honors at both Northeastern and UMass. He led UMass to the Football Championship Subdivision title game in 2006. More recently he had been the defensive coordinator stints at Maryland and Connecticut.

“I think we need to reestablish what Yale is all about,” said another source close to the Yale football program. “Bringing Brown in, he knows the intricacies of (coaching) at Yale. He knows the way to work within the system. I know the alumni will be enthused.”

Neither Yale nor UConn would confirm the hiring of Brown although Yale is hoping to officially announce its head coach this week. The Register reported that the tentative plan was to name the coach by Wednesday and that time frame still seems reasonable.

Yale also interviewed former Yale assistant coach Tony Reno, Georgetown head coach Kevin Kelly and Lehigh offensive coordinator Dave Cecchini. There was a recent report that former UCLA head coach Karl Dorrell drew interest from Yale.

Williams, who coached Yale for the last three seasons, was forced to resign last month after Yale investigation claims that he overstated his status as a Rhodes Scholarship candidate on his resume.