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Brown leaves Maryland, takes defensive coordinator job at UConn

Maryland defensive coordinator Don Brown is leaving the program after two seasons to take the same job at Connecticut.

UConn announced Brown's hiring this afternoon.

It is the second member of new coach Randy Edsall's staff who has departed this week. David Walker, briefly the Terrapins' running backs coach, left for the Indianapolis Colts on Wednesday.

Brown's loss is a particularly harsh blow for Maryland, which ranked ninth in pass efficiency defense, 21st in rushing defense and 39th in total defense in Brown's second season. Linebacker Alex Wujciak and safety Kenny Tate were both first-team all-ACC picks in 2009 as the Terps' defense helped fuel a seven-win improvement.

Brown's destination is hardly a shock given his history. In a 29-year career, he has worked outside of New England for only three seasons --- the last two, and a stint as Mansfield (Pa.)'s defensive coordinator in 1983.

Maryland retains Brown and Hull

Maryland announced Tuesday night it will retain defensive coordinator Don Brown and wide receivers coach Lee Hull as part of new coach Randy Edsall's staff.

The potentially interesting part of this development isn't so much who was retained --- although keeping Brown, the architect of Maryland's much improved defense should bear fruit next season --- but rather what sort of impact this has from a recruiting standpoint.

Brown's recruiting territory included Florida, which Connecticut managed to mine for a few players while Edsall was in Storrs. And Hull's recruiting area is western Pennsylvania, a state Edsall relied on heavily during his time with the Huskies.

Among those  not retained were Al Seamonson (whose recruiting territory included South Carolina) and Tom Brattan (who has ties to Virginia's Tidewater area as well as Georgia). Of course, Dave Sollazzo's ties were in New York and New Jersey, and he wasn't kept either. Neither was Kevin Lempa.

(EDIT, Wednesday 8:15 p.m.: A Maryland team spokesman said Brattan could still be retained. I offer my apologies for my misinterpretation of Maryland's announcement on Tuesday).

Still, this could be an early hint of where Edsall's recruiting priorities will be --- perhaps a northward shift in a search for talent, while keeping an eye on Florida as well. Time will tell, of course, but it is telling Edsall opted not to retain most of the old staff's connections to the south.