Robinson Tabs Browning as Orange Offensive Coordinator
12/7/2007 11:30:03 AM | Football
Read head coach Greg Robinson's Press Conference Transcript
A versatile coach who has 28 years of collegiate experience is joining Syracuse University head coach Greg Robinson's staff as the Orange offensive coordinator. Mitch Browning guided one of the most prolific offenses in Big Ten history at Minnesota, directing the 2005 Gophers offense that averaged 494.8 yards per game. Browning, who coached at Minnesota from 1997 through 2006, including seven years as an offensive coordinator, helped the Gophers to eight consecutive seasons with more than 2,000 yards rushing and more than 2,000 yards receiving.
“Mitch’s trademark is a dominant offense with an effective running game and an efficient throwing game to create a balanced attack,” Robinson said. “He directs offenses that advance the ball downfield and score points. He creates a balanced attack.”
Browning, a dynamic coach who has mentored seven different positions during his career, worked with Robinson at North Carolina State in 1980 and 1981. In 1982, Browning was a graduate assistant coach at Ohio State, working with then-Buckeye offensive coordinator Glen Mason, whose Buckeye offense averaged 425.1 yards per game. The Buckeyes finished the season with a 9-3 record, including a win in the Holiday Bowl.
“A big part of my decision to come to Syracuse was the leadership of (director of athletics) Daryl Gross and (head coach) Greg Robinson. There is great tradition at Syracuse with the likes of Ernie Davis, Jim Brown, Larry Csonka, Don McPherson, Donovan McNabb, Marvin Harrison and Dwight Freeney. Hopefully we can continue that tradition,” Browning said. “I have been impressed by the knowledge and work ethic of the Syracuse coaches on the offensive side of the ball. Our job and challenge will be to somehow, some way manufacture offense, to sustain drives and score points. The number one priority is to evaluate the talent we have on offense and determine where we want to go. The offense has a good nucleus of young talent and playmakers. Our job will be to figure out what we have to do to get the ball in the hands of the playmakers.”
In 1997, Browning went to Minnesota with head coach Glen Mason from the University of Kansas. He served as the Gophers tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator for two seasons and then added the offensive tackles to his coaching responsibilities. In 2000, he was named co-offensive coordinator and in 2005 he assumed sole responsibility for the offense, while continuing to coach the tight ends and tackles.
Browning’s Gopher offenses ranked in the top 35 nationally in total offense for seven consecutive seasons and produced the top five single-season total offense efforts in Minnesota history, including a school-record 6,430 yards in 2003. During Browning’s seven years as a Minnesota coordinator, six Gopher quarterbacks etched their name in the Minnesota record book among the school’s top 15 single-season passing yards leaders, while 10 running backs produced yardage totals that rank among Minnesota’s top 17 single-season efforts. In both 2003 and 2004, two running backs, Laurence Maroney and Marion Barber III, gained more than 1,000 yards each. The Gophers’ scoring average ranked in the top 50 nationally for seven consecutive seasons.
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BROWNING NAMED OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR – page 2
In 2003, Minnesota set a Big Ten record for total offense (6,430) and finished with the fourth-highest rushing total (3,759) and sixth highest point total (503) in Big Ten history. The Gophers also set school records in several other categories including: touchdowns (66), rushing touchdowns (46), yards-per-play (6.6), completion percentage (61.3%), first downs (326) and 500-yard games (7). Minnesota led the Big Ten and finished among the NCAA leaders in rushing offense (third, 289.2 ypg), total offense (fourth, 494.6 ypg) and scoring offense (seventh, 38.7 ppg). That season Browning was selected as a finalist for the Frank Broyles Award, given annually to the top football assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level.
The 2002 Gophers tied a school record for touchdowns in a season (45) and set school record for first downs (268). In 2001, Minnesota owned the second-best rushing attack in the Big Ten at 217.2 yards per game. The 2000 Minnesota offense averaged a school record 429.1 yards per game and posted the second-best passing attack in the Big Ten (232.2 ypg). The Gophers finished second in the conference and 11th in the nation in pass efficiency (140.7). In 1999, Minnesota’s offense ranked second in the Big Ten and 11th in the nation in rushing offense (227.2) and third in the Big Ten and 14th in the nation in total offense (410.2).
Browning mentored 2006 All-American Matt Spaeth, who won Mackey Award presented to the nation’s best tight end. As a senior, Spaeth had 47 receptions for 564 yards and four touchdowns. He set the Minnesota career record for receptions (109) and receiving yards (1,291). His 109 catches is the ninth-best total in Minnesota history. The Pittsburgh Steelers selected him in the third round of the 2007 draft.
Browning also coached Minnesota tight end Ben Utecht, a two-time All-Big Ten selection. A member of the Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts, Utecht signed with the Colts as a rookie free agent in 2004.
Browning, a Perrysville, Ohio, native, also made the offensive tackle position one of prominence and stability at Minnesota. The Gophers allowed the fewest sacks in the Big Ten for five consecutive seasons from 2002 through 2006. Three offensive tackles earned All-Big Ten honors under Browning.
At Kent State, Browning coached quarterback Tim Phillips, who completed a school-record 58.3 percent of his passes, and running back Eric Wilkerson, who still ranks second on the Golden Flashes’ career rushing yards record list.
Browning began his collegiate coaching career in 1979 as a graduate assistant at Miami (Ohio). He then became the wide receivers coach as a part-time assistant at North Carolina State in 1980-81 where he coached Mike Quick, who went on to become a first round draft pick of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles and an eventual five-time NFL All-Pro selection.
In 1983, Browning was named the quarterbacks and wide receivers coach at Kent State. Browning became the offensive coordinator in 1985 and remained in that role when Mason was named the Golden Flashes head coach in 1986, beginning his 21-year association with Mason.
In 1988, Browning went to Kansas when Mason was named head coach. Browning worked with the Jayhawks defense for seven seasons, coaching the defensive backs and linebackers, before returning to the offensive side of the ball in 1995 to coach the tight ends and serve as recruiting coordinator.
Browning is a 1979 graduate of Capital (Ohio) University, where he was a four-year starter at linebacker during his collegiate career and an All-Ohio Athletic Conference selection as a senior.
Browning is married to the former Jane Grey Baldwin.
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