Gilbert Brown Gilbert Jesse Brown , ( born February 22 , 1971 ) is a former nose tackle who played for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League ( 1993 – 99 , 2001 – 03 ) . Brown played 125 Packers games ( 103 starts ) recording 292 tackles ( 186 solo ) and seven sacks . Nicknamed " The Gravedigger , " in honor of his celebratory dance following a thunderous tackle , Brown played in 15 Packers playoff games . He was a major contributor on strong defenses during the mid - 1990s . His best season was 1996 , when Green Bay won Super Bowl XXXI . He was also part of the Kansas team that won the 1992 Aloha Bowl , and was selected for the All - Academic Big Eight team in 1991 . Early years . Gilbert grew up in Detroit , Michigan with parents Leroy and Ann Brown , older brother Wes , and younger siblings , Sheri , Tommy and Anna ( all of whom went to college and became athletes ) . Like Wes Sr . , Gilbert was athletic and fast . Even his brothers could not run home before Gilbert . During his senior year at Mackenzie High School , he recorded 189 tackles and 19 sacks his senior year to earn all - state honors . Brown also lettered in track , competing in the shot put . He graduated from high school in 1989 . College career . Back in high school , Gilbert never looked at big - time football factories such as Michigan . He wanted to get away from what he saw in Detroit . He wanted a quiet , smaller environment in which to live after one of his classmates was gunned down . So he turned down Bo Schembechler and the University of Michigan to go to a school known for its powerful basketball program , and not for its football ability : the University of Kansas . The Kansas Jayhawks coach Glen Mason said , " The very first play of the first drill , he goes up against a lineman and he absolutely demolished him . We just looked around at each other . " With the Jayhawks , Brown helped build a winning program along with fellow defensive lineman and future NFL first round pick Dana Stubblefield ( Kansas went to the Aloha Bowl in ' 92 ) . But Brown went through more difficult times during his college years : a friend Brown had just met on campus died unexpectedly of spinal meningitis , and Brown ' s father died of congestive heart failure during Brown ' s senior year . He started all but 2 games in four seasons at the University of Kansas ( 1989 – 92 ) , and was tied for sixth in school history in tackles by a defensive lineman with 168 , fifth in career tackles for loss with 30 , and had 7½ career sacks . He finished second on the team in sacks , tackles for loss and fumbles recovered in 1991 while helping the Jayhawks hold opponents to an average of 150 . 9 yards per game on the ground , which was the best run defense at Kansas since 1968 at the time . A year earlier , as a sophomore , was named as the Jayhawks ’ ‘ Co - Defensive Most Valuable Player ’ and earned second team All - Big Eight Conference recognition . Brown started nine games at nose guard as a freshman . . . An All - Academic Big Eight selection in 1991 . Still , Brown made a name for himself in football . He was poked in the eye one too many times his freshman year , so he started wearing the tinted visor that he wore throughout his professional career . And he came up with that gravedigger move at Kansas — after a big defensive hit , he would dig an imaginary grave , which became his trademark and nickname . He majored in human development . Professional career . Brown was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the third round of the 1993 NFL Draft ( 79th overall pick ) , but was waived during the final roster cutdowns on August 30 , 1993 in his first training camp due to his weight . He was listed at 315 in college , but showed up to Vikings camp at a hefty 355 . But the Packers , desperate then for defensive linemen , picked him up on August 31 . Brown played in just two games that season while he worked off some of his weight in practice . In 1994 , he played but his season was cut short with a torn Anterior cruciate ligament . Again in 1995 , he played , but an elbow injury cut that season short . In 1996 , he started all 16 games next to Santana Dotson , Sean Jones and Reggie White , a defensive unit that allowed a league record low 19 touchdowns . Brown had a career high 51 tackles , and his first complete 16 game season . Brown became a fan favorite , partly because he was easy to spot , and partly because of his eccentric gravedigger dance . During the 1996 season , it became known that Brown would regularly order the " Gilbertburger " — a Triple Whopper with extra everything , cut in half with extra cheese , no pickles — always obtained from the Oneida Street Burger King in Green Bay . Burger King even made it available for a short time as a promotion in Wisconsin Burger King restaurants . Brown was a highly sought after free agent after the 1996 season , but he elected to take a pay cut to stay with the Packers . On February 18 , 1997 , he signed a three - year , $ 8 . 25 million contract , which was 10 times his 1996 salary , but was about $ 1 million less than the offer he received from Jacksonville . He said that he would rather stay with the team and fans that he knew and loved . Many people thought that he started getting bigger around that time , and thought that he was as high as 360 or 375 , much higher than his listed 345 . " That was outrageous , I never got that big , " said Brown . " The biggest I ever got up to was maybe 350 , something like that . " But the Packers were fine with his size . Despite his weight , he posted three sacks during the 1997 season , which tied his career high from 1994 . After playing all 16 games during the 1998 and 1999 seasons , he spent the 2000 season out of football after his contract with the Packers was not renewed . Before the 2001 training camp , he worked out and lived for a time with Fred Roll , his former strength and conditioning coach at the University of Kansas , and subsequently returned to Green Bay for training camp in July at a perceptibly more svelte 339 pounds — and once again equipped with his former quickness . He was re - signed by the Packers on March 23 , 2001 , after which Brown announced , “ If I didn ’ t think I could do this anymore , I wouldn ' t be here " . Brown had two good years after his return to football . However , he ruptured a biceps during the 2003 pre - season , but played on without having surgery . He recorded 14 tackles , one fumble recovery ( the first of his career ) and one pass defensed . In a victory over Chicago ( Dec . 7 ) , Brown posted a season - high four stops , along with a pass breakup . On March 2 , 2004 , the Packers released Brown . He had played 125 Packers games ( 103 starts ) with 292 tackles ( 186 solo ) and seven sacks . He also played in 15 Packers playoff games . In franchise history , only Brett Favre ( 22 ) has more . Life After Football . Gilbert was featured in the Sports Illustrated special , " Where Are They Now ? " , featuring former professional athletes and what they are up to . Brown is currently a co - owner of the Milwaukee Mile , a racetrack that is often used for NASCAR races and at one time was the Packers ' part - time home field . Gilbert even claims that he will occasionally fit his massive frame inside a race car and take a few laps . Gilbert , with the strong influence of his mother and family , felt that he wanted to give something back to the community , so he started his foundation which helps inner - city kids , and many other causes such as Breast Cancer and Make A Wish . In 2002 , he combined his love for cars with his desire to give back when he organized a car show , Gilbert Brown and Friends , in Elkhart Lake , Wisconsin , which benefited the Make - a - Wish Foundation . On October 23 , 2007 , the Milwaukee Bonecrushers of the Continental Indoor Football League announced that Brown had signed a three - year contract to be the team ' s new head coach . The Bonecrushers began their season in March . However On Tuesday , April 8 , 2008 , Gilbert Brown resigned as head coach of the Milwaukee Bonecrushers citing irreconcilable differences with ownership . On December 11 , 2007 , the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame , Inc . , Tuesday announced Brown would be inducted into the Hall at the 38th Hall of Fame Induction Banquet , to be held the evening of July 19 , 2008 , in the Lambeau Field Atrium . On August 6 , 2009 , it was announced that Brown would return to coaching as the first head coach of the expansion La Crosse Spartans of the Indoor Football League . On April 1 , 2011 , Brown announced he was taking a leave of absence from the La Crosse Spartans . As of Aug . 2011 , Brown is the head coach of the Green Bay Chill of the Lingerie Football League .