Watson Brown Lester Watson Brown ( born April 19 , 1950 ) is an American football coach and former player . He is currently the head football coach at Tennessee Technological University , a position he has held since 2007 . Previously , Brown served as the head coach at Austin Peay State University ( 1979 – 1980 ) , the University of Cincinnati ( 1983 ) , Rice University ( 1984 – 1985 ) , Vanderbilt University ( 1986 – 1990 ) , and the University of Alabama at Birmingham ( 1995 – 2006 ) . He was also the athletic director at UAB from 2002 to 2005 . Brown played college football as a quarterback at Vanderbilt . He is the older brother of Mack Brown , the head football coach at the University of Texas at Austin . Early years and playing career . A native of Cookeville , Tennessee , Brown was one of the top - rated quarterbacks in the nation coming out of high school . He was also recruited to play basketball and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates as a shortstop . He chose to stay in state and was a quarterback at Vanderbilt University from 1969 – 1972 . He started all four years at Vandy and led the Commodores to their best seasons in terms of wins since 1960 . One of his victories was a 14 – 10 upset over the # 13 Alabama Crimson Tide in 1969 . It was Vanderbilt ’ s first victory over Alabama in 13 seasons . Coaching career . After graduating from Vanderbilt , Brown spent the 1973 season as a graduate assistant at Vanderbilt . From there , he went to East Carolina University , where he spent two seasons as an assistant to Pat Dye , coaching quarterbacks and wide receivers . In 1976 and 1977 , he served as the offensive coordinator at Jacksonville State University . The Gamecocks played for the Division II national championship in 1977 . Brown spent the 1978 season as an assistant at Texas Tech before landing his first head coaching position a year later . At age 29 , he began a two - year stint as the head coach at Austin Peay State University . The Governors had a record of 14 – 8 under Brown . In 1981 , Brown returned to Vanderbilt to become the school ’ s offensive coordinator . Two seasons later , he took his first major college head coaching job , taking over the program at the University of Cincinnati . In one season with the Bearcats , he had a record of 4 – 6 – 1 . In 1984 , Brown was named head football coach and athletic director at Rice University . In two seasons with the Owls , he compiled a record of 4 – 18 . From there he returned to his alma mater to take over the struggling Vanderbilt University football program . Brown ’ s five - year stint with the Commodores from 1986 – 1990 produced a record of 10 – 45 . After leaving Vanderbilt , Brown spent the 1991 and 1992 seasons as the offensive coordinator at Mississippi State University , then the 1993 and 1994 seasons with the same responsibilities at the University of Oklahoma . In 1995 , Brown was hired by UAB to lead the fledgling program as it prepared to move from Division I - AA to Division I - A . In twelve seasons as the Blazers ’ head coach he compiled a record of 62 – 74 , and led the team to its first bowl appearance in the Hawaii Bowl in 2004 . Brown resigned from UAB to take over the head coaching responsibilities at Tennessee Tech University on December 9 , 2006 .