Mansfield Timberview head coach James Brown informed his team today that he’d be stepping down after a highly successful 11-year run to become the Director of Scouting and High School Relations at SMU.

Brown is a native of El Paso and graduate of Andress High School where he played under legendary coach Allen Sepkowitz. He has a career head coaching record of 113-80 in 17 seasons as a head coach. Brown played collegiately at UTEP after his career wrapped up at Andress.

In 11 seasons at Timberview, Brown posted a 79-50 record. His final season was his best year as the Wolves posted a 13-1 record, which included a trip to the Class 5A-Division I Regional Finals. Brown posted four seasons of 10 or more wins and also led THS to the regional semifinals on two occasions.

“I had felt like here soon I was going to retire from public schools, if not now, definitely after the 2023 season," Brown said. "One third of my career has been spent at Timberview. It was such an unbelievable run, but I was ready for a new challenge. I sat down with my wife and we talked about it. I knew I had felt a little complacency so I thought once that feeling crept in that it was time for something new and SMU was a perfect fit."

Brown’s coaching career began in his native El Paso where he spent two years as an assistant at El Paso Cathedral before returning to his alma mater where he was on staff from 1995-99. Brown began coaching defensive backs before becoming the offensive coordinator in 1996.

In 2000, he left El Paso to move to the Houston area where he was the defensive coordinator at Alvin High School from 2000-2005, before getting his first head coaching opportunity at Brazosport. After one season at Brazosport, Brown was named head coach at Fort Bend Kempner where he spent four seasons, leading KHS to the playoffs three times.

In 2011, Coach Brown came to the DFW area where he took over second year program North Forney. In his lone season leading the Falcons, Brown led them to a 10-2 mark and their first playoff win in school history. Shortly after the conclusion of the 2011 campaign, he accepted the Mansfield Timberview job and that’s where he has remained.

"Timberview was an 11-year family," he said. "I’ve been able to do mentorship for the guys on my staff and they’ve grown so much that the football side of it they can handle. I felt more like a CEO of a company. I needed something new to push those buttons to make me go."

Because Brown has coached all over the state, he feels he’s a great fit for the position at SMU.

“I’ve been in DFW, Houston and I am from El Paso, so I have lots of coaching connections," he said. "I pride myself on being able to properly evaluate talent, so this position really fits and it is intriguing to me.

“I feel like I can help strengthen SMU’s relationship with the THSCA because I’ve been in the high school game and I hope to help SMU get in front of more kids, on more campuses and into more homes. I am very familiar with SMU’s program. My family is here and my daughter worked there so I know the lay of the land and I think it makes the transition easier because of those roots that have been built with the guys on staff.”