When Bossier High head football coach Michael Concilio talked to Ricky Brown about becoming an assistant coach at the school, he was impressed by his knowledge of football.
As he worked with Brown over the past three years, Concilio found out there was much more to the man than his ability to coach.
“He was one of those guys we wanted to make sure we got,” Concilio said. “Once we got him in here we realized we brought in more than a football coach. We brought in a man with a lot of good values.”
Brown, 36, died of an apparent heart attack early Tuesday.
He was a coach and teacher at Bossier for three years. As offensive coordinator, he helped lead the Bearkats to back-to-back District 1-3A titles in 2011 and 2012,
“He was a great individual with fantastic morals and principles,” Concilio said. “He was raised the right way.”
Concilio said as a football coach Brown was always trying to think of ways he could help players reach their potential and make the team better.
Brown taught earth and physical science. He also helped coach track.
He leaves behind his wife, Mia, and three small children.
Brown’s death left the Bossier High community in shock.
“It’s painful,” Concilio said. “It’s a rough situation.”
Concilio met with his players Tuesday afternoon.
“There were a lot of kids that grew close to coach Brown,” he said. “That makes it tough. We’re just trying to get the kids to understand what all took place.”
Before coming to Bossier, Brown was a coach and teacher at Haynesville High, his alma mater, for six years.
He was a quarterback and team captain on Haynesville teams coached by legendary Red Franklin that won Class 2A state titles in 1993 and 1994.
Brown’s father, Jimmy, is a security officer at the school and his mother, Ezella, works in the cafeteria.
Current Haynesville head coach David Franklin, Red’s son, said Brown was a “great person.”
Franklin said Brown coached a variety of positions at Haynesville, including linebackers, tight ends and wingbacks.
He said Brown was a 4.0 student at Haynesville who went on to get a degree in chemistry at Northeast Louisiana (now Louisiana-Monroe).
Franklin said Brown didn’t get into coaching immediately after college.
“I think he lost his job, and I said, ‘You can come back and coach with us, ’ ” Franklin said. “We weren’t happy to lose him (to Bossier).”
