American Football

Troy Brown gaining ‘valuable’ experience as head coach at East-West Shrine Bowl

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NFL: DEC 18 Patriots at Colts
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Brown is serving as head coach for the West team.

With the New England Patriots coaching staff out in Las Vegas this week for the East-West Shrine Bowl, several members of the staff are taking on larger roles than usual. That includes wide receivers/kick returners coach Troy Brown, who is serving as the head coach of the West team.

Speaking with reporters on Sunday, Brown noted Bill Belichick gave him all the keys to the team both on and off the field.

“It gives us the experience of a head coach, the best you can in this situation,” Brown said. “All of the planning and all that stuff has been left up to me. Everything from planning out practices to travel and everything else, the itinerary. I’ve been responsible for all of that stuff, so it puts me in a spot where I’ve never been before and an experience that I couldn’t experience any place else than doing it here.

“So that’s a valuable lesson that I’m learning about the head-coaching position: There’s other things that go on besides coaching football that you have to worry about. I don’t think I could get this experience any other place, and I’m able to do it here.”

Brown is set to enter his fourth season as a full-time assistant on New England’s coaching staff, having worked with running backs and kick returners in 2020 before handling wide receivers the last two seasons. His added work this week has given him a glimpse into the life of Belichick, who is serving as a supervisor with New England’s other higher-up coaches.

“There’s so many things I didn’t know about that a head coach had to do,” Brown told reporters. “You just would never get that experience some other way. Doing it in a regular practice, you wouldn’t get that, but here, it’s an actual week-of-the-game situation. You’ve got to go through the whole process of prepping your team, prepping your coaches, making sure all the t’s are crossed and i’s are dotted.

“It’s just an entire process you’ve got to go through as a head coach to make sure everything’s right for your football team. I just don’t think I could get that doing it any other way.”

The added work is valuable experience for Brown and other Patriots assistants, but it is certainly “harder” than he expected.

“It looks a lot easier on the outside than it is,” he said. “Even as a coach on the staff, I don’t get to see everything that Bill goes through every week. So it’s a valuable lesson that I’m getting right now.”

Brown and the rest of New England’s coaching contingent in Vegas will be back on the practice fields on Monday and Tuesday as they prepare for the Shrine Bowl kickoff Thursday night.

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