Brownfield Glad to Be Back : Muir Coach Is Energized by His Return to the Football Field

Jim Brownfield would have bet his life savings six years ago that he was through coaching high school football.

Moments after winning his second consecutive CIF Southern Section title at Pasadena Muir in December of 1986, Brownfield announced his resignation. After months of suffering from various conditions caused by stress, he said leaving was an easy decision.

Things had gotten so bad during his final season that Brownfield missed the Long Beach Jordan game after checking himself into a hospital.

“Three days after I quit the team, the burning in my stomach stopped,” Brownfield said. “It has only bothered me maybe one or two times since. I feel 100% better.”

So, a healthy 63, Brownfield has defied doctors and family members by returning to the football field for one last hurrah. He applied for the Muir job last spring, after the school had lost its fifth coach in the past five seasons.

Unable to watch the program he had so carefully built further deteriorate, the Muir veteran vowed to rebuild the team and train his coaching staff so that one of his assistants could take over when he retired in two years. Brownfield has already acknowledged, however, that he may continue to coach the team after he retires from teaching.

He says football is in his blood.

“Before I decided to get back into the game, we had a family gathering to decide what I should do,” Brownfield said. “Of the 62 family members in attendance, 59 were vehemently opposed to me taking the job. My doctors just said they would see me in a few months. But all of my tests turned up negative, and I was given a clean bill of health.”

But why take such a chance?

Brownfield said he missed coaching young men. He felt he was not able to fully be himself while coaching the girls’ track team at Muir the last six years.

But he plans to continue coaching the track team, which has won two state titles under his direction.

“You have to be much more sensitive with the girls,” he said. “You can’t kid with them very much and you can never yell. Sometimes those can be hard things to abstain from when you’re used to being a football coach.”

Brownfield, who attended Hollywood High and Cal State Los Angeles, started his football coaching career at Muir in 1965. He left after two seasons, then returned in 1977. It took him three years to rebuild the program, but from 1980-86 his record was one of the best in the state. In those seven seasons, the Mustangs won six Pacific Leagues titles and two sectional championships while compiling a 72-12-1 mark.

When Brownfield stepped down, Muir had won 24 consecutive games. His successors did not fare as well. Despite annual trips to the playoffs, Muir has not won a league title since 1986.

Intense pressure from the community to field a winner has resulted in a revolving door for coaches. Dwain Thornton replaced Brownfield in 1987, but was let go when a 9-1 record was changed to 0-10 after it was learned that Muir had used an ineligible player.

Herb Robinson went 8-4 the next season. He was replaced by John Tyree, who had a mark of 19-5-2 in two years, including a co-section championship with Santa Barbara in ’89. John Rome got the job last season, but resigned before the first game. Mike Morris took over at the last minute and guided the team to an 8-5 finish.

“The school has great athletes who have a good work ethic,” said Tyree, now the coach at Riverside Ramona. “My biggest problem was getting assistant coaches. Perhaps Jim’s familiarity with the community will help him build a staff that can bring some stability. I couldn’t seem to do it.”

Muir was competitive during Brownfield’s absence, but the program has lacked continuity. Numbers have dwindled to 37 varsity players, perhaps the fewest of any Division II team. Brownfield said he found equipment outdated and broken.

Morale in the coaching staff got so bad last season that star running back Saladin McCullough promised to transfer this year if changes were not made.

“I had already made plans to attend St. Francis,” said McCullough, one of the top prospects in the Southland. “I was going through the motions, and not happy with my progress. I was definitely looking for a change.”

McCullough and several of his teammates decided to stay when Brownfield got the job. They say they feel like they are on a new team this year.

“Everyone seems to care about the players more this year,” said Andy Colbert, the starting quarterback. “Coach Brownfield takes the game seriously and understands that many of us are in this because we think we can get a college scholarship. He’s in our corner.”

Brownfield, a physical education teacher, has made many changes. His spread offense is the opposite of the grind-it-out running attack employed in recent years. Players are not allowed to miss practice without good excuses. They carry notebooks everywhere and cannot be late for any meetings. Practice twice a day has been brutal, but necessary to get the team back into shape, the coach said.

Brownfield vows to restore the high emotional level the team had during his previous tenure, but he is not making any guarantees. Muir has a tough nonleague schedule with games against Division I powers Antelope Valley, Fontana and Rialto Eisenhower. He said his only goal this season is to win the league title.

League coaches are wary of Brownfield’s return.

“The legend is coming back,” said Mike Merrill, Pasadena High’s coach. “He’s the guy that invented football, practically.”