23 Facts About Rich Brooks

Richard Llewellyn Brooks was born on August 20,1941 and is an American retired football coach and former player.

Rich Brooks was the head coach at the University of Oregon from 1977 to 1994, the St Louis Rams from 1995 to 1996, and the University of Kentucky from 2003 to 2009.

Rich Brooks attended Oregon State University in Corvallis, where he majored in physical education and played defensive back for the football team under head coach Tommy Prothro.

Rich Brooks received his bachelor's degree in 1963 and completed his master's degree in education at Oregon State the next year.

Rich Brooks was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity at Oregon State.

Rich Brooks's coaching career started at Oregon State as an assistant freshman coach while working on his master's degree.

Rich Brooks soon returned to his alma mater to serve as defensive line coach for the Beavers from 1965 through 1969 under new head coach Dee Andros.

Rich Brooks rejoined Prothro in 1970 as linebackers coach at UCLA, then followed Prothro to the Los Angeles Rams in 1971 as special teams and fundamentals coach.

Rich Brooks accepted his first head coaching position in 1977 at the University of Oregon, Oregon State's bitter rival.

Rich Brooks' first contract was a four-year deal at $32,000 per year.

Rich Brooks led them to three more bowls during his tenure, becoming the first coach in school history to take the Ducks to four bowl games.

Rich Brooks was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year, and won the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award as national coach of the year.

Rich Brooks left Oregon for the NFL after the 1994 season.

Nonetheless, Rich Brooks is credited with reviving Oregon's football program and setting the stage for its rise to national prominence under Bellotti and Chip Kelly.

On February 10,1995, Rich Brooks accepted a four-year contract at $625,000 per year to become the head coach of the Rams, who were preparing to move from Los Angeles to St Louis for that season.

Rich Brooks then spent four seasons on Dan Reeves' staff in with the Atlanta Falcons, and served as interim head coach for the final two games of the Falcons' 1998 season while Reeves was recuperating from heart surgery.

Rich Brooks agreed to a five-year contract at $725,000 per year.

On December 23,2006, Kentucky Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart announced that the university and Rich Brooks had agreed to a contract extension for four years, plus an additional year at the university's option.

Rich Brooks' base pay was $1 million per year plus other incentives.

On January 18,2008, the Kentucky athletics department announced that when Rich Brooks chose to retire, former Kentucky player and then offensive coordinator Joker Phillips would become the football team's next head coach.

Rich Brooks became the first Kentucky coach to win bowl games in three consecutive years.

On September 30,2009, Rich Brooks announced on his Twitter page that he had undergone a procedure to remove skin cancer from his leg.

Rich Brooks announced his retirement from collegiate coaching on January 4,2010.