What would a week in which the Cleveland Browns play the Cincinnati Bengals be without paying homage to Paul Brown? Considering both franchises were started by, in my mind, the best head coach in the history of football and that the teams both play in stadiums (Cleveland's indirect/Cincinnati's not so subtle) named after the man, you cannot forget to mention the legacy of Brown and what he provided to both Ohio franchises and to the National Football League as a whole.

Brown was an Ohio legend long before he started the Cleveland Browns. Starring as a quarterback for Washington High School in Massillon and later Miami of Ohio in college, Brown excelled on the field despite his small frame. It wasn't until he started to coach that it became evident that football wasn't just a hobby to him.

At Only 23 years old, Brown returned to Massillon to coach at his alumni. He compiled a record of 80-8-2 at the school and in the 1940 season his teams outscored their opponents 477 to 6.

It was apparent that Brown was a gifted coach. He soon graduated to the college ranks when the Ohio State Buckeyes came calling. Brown's tenure would be interrupted at OSU due to World War 2 but brought Columbus its first National Championship team in 1942.

In 1946, when the war was completed, he helped found the Browns . He led the team to a total of 7 titles combined in the All-America Football Conference (4 titles in 4 seasons) and National Football League (3 titles).

1946 AAFC Championship
1947 AAFC Championship
1948 AAFC Championship
1949 AAFC Championship
1950 NFL Championship
1954 NFL Championship
1955 NFL Championship

Leap years ahead of his time, Brown was the first coach to use things that are common today like assistant coaches to teach certain positions, game film, IQ Tests for incoming players, modern pass-blocking, the "messenger guard" (one of which would spawn another Hall of Fame coach in Chuck Noll), the facemask (after an injury to star quarterback Otto Graham), and is credited as the founder of today's modern offense. Brown was so ahead of his time that technology wouldn't allow him to use some things. Brown tried to install radio systems in the players helmets to relay incoming plays in the 1940's. It wasn't until the late 1990's that became commonplace in the NFL. Brown was literally 50 years ahead of his time.

Brown was fired by Art Modell prior to the 1963 season. Local sportswriters described the decision, which was done tactically during a labor dispute with newspapers writers, like "toppling of the Terminal Tower".

Brown wasn't done in football, however, as he would become the founding owner and head coach of the American Football League's expansion Cincinnati Bengals. Brown would lead his team to 3 playoffs births and collect 2 coach of the year honors with the club (he had won 3 in his Cleveland Browns career).

Here is his all time coaching record season by season:
1946 CLE 12 -2- 0
1947 CLE 12 -1- 1
1948 CLE 14 -0- 0
1949 CLE 9 -1- 2
1950 CLE 10 - 2 - 0
1951 CLE 11 - 1 - 0
1952 CLE 8 - 4 - 0
1953 CLE 11 - 1 - 0
1954 CLE 9 - 3 - 0
1955 CLE 9 - 2 - 1
1956 CLE 5 - 7 - 0
1957 CLE 9 - 2 - 1
1958 CLE 9 - 3 - 0
1959 CLE 7 - 5 - 0
1960 CLE 8 - 3 - 1
1961 CLE 8 - 5 - 1
1962 CLE 7 - 6 - 1
1968 CIN 3 - 11 - 0
1969 CIN 4 - 9 - 1
1970 CIN 8 - 6 - 0
1971 CIN 4 - 10 - 0
1972 CIN 8 - 6 - 0
1973 CIN 10 - 4 - 0
1974 CIN 7 - 7 - 0
1975 CIN 11 - 3 - 0

Paul Eugene Brown died on August 5th, 1991. He left behind a "coaching tree" that included Don Shula, Ara Parseghian, Chuck Noll, and Bill Walsh among many others.