Rich Brooks

College coach infobox
Name = Rich Brooks
Caption =
DateOfBirth = birth date and age|1941|8|20
Birthplace = Forest, California, USA
DateOfDeath =
Sport = Football
College = Kentucky
Title = Head Coach
Current Record = 23-30
Current Season = 5-0
OverallRecord = 108-141
Awards = See Below
Championships =
CFbDWID = 248
Player = Y
Years = 1961-63
Team = Oregon State University
Position = Defensive Back
Coach = Y
CoachYears = 1963 1965-1969 1970 1971-1972 1973 1974-1975 1976 1977-1994 1995-1996 1997-2000 2003-
CoachTeams = Oregon State University (asst. Freshman) Oregon State University (defensive line) UCLA (linebackers) Los Angeles Rams (special teams/fundamentals) Oregon State University (defensive coordinator) San Francisco 49ers (defensive backs/special teams) UCLA (linebackers/special teams) University of Oregon St. Louis Rams Atlanta Falcons (defensive coordinator) University of Kentucky
FootballHOF =

Rich Brooks (born August 20, 1941, Forest, California, United States) is an American football coach and the head football coach at the University of Kentucky. Brooks is best known for spending 18 seasons at the University of Oregon, winning the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award for national coach of the year after leading Oregon to the Rose Bowl in 1994.

Education

Brooks attended Oregon State University. He majored in physical education and played defensive back for the football team. He received his bachelor's degree in 1963 and completed his master's degree in education at Oregon State the next year. He was also a proud member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity at Oregon State.

Coaching

His coaching career started at Oregon State as an Assistant Freshman Coach while working on his master's degree. After receiving his master's degree, he moved to Sacramento, California where he accepted an assistant coaching job at Norte Del Rio High School. He soon returned to his alma mater to serve as an assistant coach for the Beavers from 1965-1970.

Brooks rejoined legendary Oregon State coach Tommy Prothro as linebackers coach at UCLA in 1970, then accepted a job with the Los Angeles Rams in 1971-72 as special teams and fundamentals coach. After two years in the NFL, Brooks returned to Oregon State to serve as defensive coordinator in 1973. In 1974-75, Brooks went back to the NFL as defensive backs and special teams coach for the San Francisco 49ers until returning to UCLA in 1976 to coach linebackers, where he helped the Bruins to a Top-20 final ranking.

Brooks accepted his first head coaching position at the University of Oregon in 1977. At the time of his arrival, the Ducks had not had a winning season since 1969, and only one winning season since 1965. During his tenure at Oregon, he won the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award as the National Coach of the Year, and was also chosen the Pac-10 Coach of the Year. Brooks' teams dominated the instate rivalry with Oregon State University, compiling an overall record of 15-3-1, which kept him popular during several disappointing seasons. He became the first coach in school history to take the Ducks to four bowl games. His best season came in 1994, when he led the Ducks to the first outright conference title in the school's 100-year football history and a berth in the Rose Bowl. His 89 wins were the best in school history until his former offensive coordinator, Mike Bellotti, broke it in 2006. Although he left Oregon with a record 12 games under .500 largely due to his first seven teams winning only 22 games combined, he is credited with reviving Oregon's football program.

After the 1994 season, Brooks spent two years as head coach of the rebuilding St. Louis Rams, in which the team went 13-19. After leaving St. Louis, Brooks spent four years on Dan Reeves' staff in Atlanta, and served as interim head coach for the final two games of the Falcons' 1998 Super Bowl season.

After two years away from the game, Brooks was hired as head coach at the University of Kentucky prior to the 2003 season. There was some controversy surrounding Brooks' hiring since he had been away from the game. Brooks inherited a team that was 7-5 in 2002, but was yet to feel the full effect of NCAA probation imposed because of recruiting violations committed by a prior Kentucky coaching staff. In Brooks' first three seasons his squads posted records of 4-8, 2-9 and 3-8 (9-25 overall, 4-20 in Southeastern Conference games).

Brooks coached the 2006 Kentucky squad to a 7-5 regular season. The Wildcats earned their first bowl bid since 1999, against Clemson University in the Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tennessee where Brooks' Wildcats defeated the Tigers 28-20 for Kentucky's first bowl victory since 1984.

On December 23, 2006, Kentucky Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart announced that the University and Brooks had agreed to a contract extension for four years, plus an additional year at the University's option. Brooks' base pay is $1 million per year plus other incentives cite web|url = http://www.ukathletics.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=39&url_article_id=19323&change_well_id=2| title = New Contract Finalized for Coach Rich Brooks| accessdate = 2007-02-11| date = 2007-01-30| publisher = UK Athletic Department] .

In 2007 the Kentucky Wildcats program under Brooks compiled a 7-5 won-loss record (overall) and 3-5 in the S.E.C. East including wins over the #1 ranked LSU Tigers and intrastate rival #8 ranked Louisville Cardinals. The Wildcats again closed out their campaign in the Music City Bowl, this time defeating the Florida State Seminoles by a score of 35-28. Brooks overall record at UK is 25-35.

On January 18, 2007, the UK Athletics Department announced that when Brooks chooses to retire, former UK player and current UK offensive coordinator Joker Phillips will become UK Football's next head coach. No date has been set for this transition, but this action was taken to provide prospective recruits some assurance that there will be a smooth transition whenever Brooks chooses to step down.cite web |url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jUakVMyJpUUjKRaLjXS66509iwvQD8U8H5J01 |title=Phillips Said to Succeed Brooks |accessdate=2008-01-18 |author=Jeffrey McMurray |date=2008-01-18 |publisher=Associated Press]

Awards

1979

*Pacific-10 Coach of the Year
*District IX Coach of the Year by the AFCA
*Slats Gill Award as Sportsman of the Year in the state of Oregon

1989

*Slats Gill Award as Sportsman of the Year in the state of Oregon

1994

*National Coach of the Year (Bear Bryant Award) by the FWAA
*National Coach of the Year by The Sporting News
*National Coach of the Year by ESPN/Home Depot
*Pacific-10 Coach of the Year
*Slats Gill Award as Sportsman of the Year in the state of Oregon

1995

*Inducted into the Independence Bowl Hall of Fame

2007

*Inducted into the University of Oregon Hall of Fame

Head coaching record

CFB Yearly Record Subhead
name = Oregon Ducks
startyear = 1977
conf = Pac 10 Conference
endyear = 1994CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1977
name = Oregon
overall = 3-8
conference = 2-5
confstanding = 7th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1978
name = Oregon
overall = 1-10
conference = 1-6
confstanding = 10th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1979
name = Oregon
overall = 4-7
conference = 2-5
confstanding = 9th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1980
name = Oregon
overall = 6-3-2
conference = 4-3-1
confstanding = 5th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1981
name = Oregon
overall = 2-9
conference = 1-6
confstanding = 9th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1982
name = Oregon
overall = 2-8-1
conference = 2-6
confstanding = 9th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1983
name = Oregon
overall = 4-6-1
conference = 3-3-1
confstanding = T-6th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1984
name = Oregon
overall = 6-5
conference = 3-5
confstanding = T-7th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1985
name = Oregon
overall = 5-6
conference = 3-4
confstanding = 6th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1986
name = Oregon
overall = 5-6
conference = 3-5
confstanding = 7th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1987
name = Oregon
overall = 6-5
conference = 4-4
confstanding = T-4th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1988
name = Oregon
overall = 6-6
conference = 3-5
confstanding = T-6th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1989
name = Oregon
overall = 8-4
conference = 5-3
confstanding = T-2nd
bowlname = Independence Bowl
bowloutcome = W 27-24
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1990
name = Oregon
overall = 8-4
conference = 4-3
confstanding = 3rd
bowlname = Freedom Bowl
bowloutcome = L 31-32
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1991
name = Oregon
overall = 3-8
conference = 1-7
confstanding = T-9th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1992
name = Oregon
overall = 6-6
conference = 4-4
confstanding = T-6th
bowlname = Independence Bowl
bowloutcome = L 35-39
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1993
name = Oregon
overall = 5-6
conference = 2-6
confstanding = T-8th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship = conference
year = 1994
name = Oregon
overall = 9-4
conference = 7-1
confstanding = 1st
bowlname = Rose Bowl
bowloutcome = L 20-38
bcsbowl =
ranking = 11
ranking2 = 11CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
name = Oregon
overall = 89-111-4
confrecord = 54-81-2CFB Yearly Record Subhead
name = Kentucky Wildcats
startyear = 2003
conf = Southeastern Conference
endyear = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 2003
name = Kentucky
overall = 4-8
conference = 1-7
confstanding = T-5th (East)
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 2004
name = Kentucky
overall = 2-9
conference = 1-7
confstanding = T-5th (East)
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 2005
name = Kentucky
overall = 3-8
conference = 2-6
confstanding = 6th (East)
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 2006
name = Kentucky
overall = 8-5
conference = 4-4
confstanding = T-3rd (East)
bowlname = Music City Bowl
bowloutcome = W 28-20
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 2007
name = Kentucky
overall = 8-5
conference = 3-5
confstanding = T-4th (East)
bowlname = Music City Bowl
bowloutcome = W 35-28
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 2008
name = Kentucky
overall = 4-1
conference = 0-1
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
name = Kentucky
overall = 27-36
confrecord = 11-30CFB Yearly Record End
overall = 116-147-4 (.434)
bcs =
poll = two
polltype =

Notes

External links

* [http://espn.go.com/ncf/news/2002/1228/1483524.html ESPN.com - Brooks to land Kentucky coaching post]
* [http://www.ukathletics.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=10336 Rich Brooks Profile]
* [http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061230/SPORTS0301/612300436/1029/SPORTS03 True Blue Believers]
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=ihhEEwIG3c4 WeLoveRichBrooks.com]