Giants running back Gary Brown drives into the endzone for...

Giants running back Gary Brown drives into the endzone for a touchdown against the Eagles. Credit: Newsday/John Keating

Gary Brown, the running back who had 1,063 rushing yards for the Giants in 1998 and went on to coach the position in college and the NFL, died on Sunday at age 52.

Brown most recently served as the running backs coach at the University of Wisconsin in 2021.

“We mourn the passing of Gary Brown, a great man who played for Big Blue for two years,” the Giants posted on Twitter Sunday night. “Once a Giant, Always a Giant.”

He is survived by his wife, Kim, daughters Malena and Dorianna and son Tre. Multiple reports indicate he had been dealing with a long-term illness and had been in hospice care for the past several weeks.

A native of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Brown was a running back at Penn State. He was an eighth-round draft pick by the Houston Oilers in 1981, and in 1983 he had his first of two 1,000-yard rushing seasons (1,002). He played for the San Diego Chargers in 1997 before ending his playing career with the Giants. After his career-best rushing season with the Giants in 1998, injuries limited him to three games with two starts in 1999.

Brown turned to coaching shortly after his retirement as a player and began at his alma mater, Williamsport High School. He coached at Lycoming College from 2003 to 2005, Susquehanna University from 2006 to 2007, and at Rutgers in 2008. In 2009, he returned to the NFL with the Cleveland Browns as its running backs coach for four seasons, then joined the Dallas Cowboys staff from 2013 to 2019.

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