Ron Brown is one of those guys who's done a bit of everything and done it pretty well. He was originally a defensive guy (played DB at Brown University) but has coached every offensive skill position except QB (as far as I know). Plus, I believe he's the only guy to have worked under Osborne, Solich, Pelini and Frost. Aside from maybe Turner Gill, I can't think of another guy who's basically seen it all as a member of Big Red's coaching crew.
Nostalgia only carries you so far, but Brown was always known for being a very intense, hard-nosed kind of coach. Ask yourself what you remember about our WR/TE corps from '87 - '03. I remember them being some badass blockers who clearly out freeway lanes for guys like Frazier, Phillips, Green, Frost, Crouch and others to run wild.
And the same thing again for our RBs and WRs during Pelini's era. Besides some defensive juggernauts like Suh, my favorite Pelini-era players were guys like Helu, Burkhead, Abdullah, Bell, Enunwa, and Kinnie. The common thread? They were all lunchpail guys who kept their heads down and buried their shoulder pads into defenders.
Maybe Brown can bring some of that to the team even in a non-coaching role. I'm not sure about the specific of NCAA rules but is he allowed any contact with players? Surely he can be brought in for some spring pep talk or something assuming he's not allowed "formal" contact during fall practices, etc.
I also like the idea of growing our bench of "analysts." Saban has been employing an army of lawyers, statisticians and actuaries behind the scenes for years. I'm fully behind taking a "Moneyball" kind of approach here with the back office.
Coaching Experience:
2015-2017 – Liberty (WR/RB)
2015 – Youngstown State (RB)
2008-14 – Nebraska (TE/RB)
1987-03 – Nebraska (WR/TE)
1984-86 – Brown (DB)
1983 – Brown (Head Freshman Coach)
1982 – New Jersey Rams (Def. Coord.)