David Cutcliffe was standing by Kippy Brown's gravesite at Sweetwater Valley Memorial Park the morning of Sept. 18, waiting for the celebration of life service to begin at 9 a.m.
When he looked to his left, he saw former Seattle Seahawks star running back Marshawn Lynch standing there. Lynch and Brown won Super Bowl 48 with Seattle in 2014, and Lynch made the trip to Brown's hometown to honor the former assistant coach, who died on Aug. 31.
"I went over to him and I said, 'You know what? You have told me today, Marshawn, everything I need to know about you,' " Cutcliffe said the Knoxville Quarterback Club on Sept. 21. "How beautiful is it for that man to fly from California, by himself, to honor Kippy Brown? So we're going to give Marshawn Lynch
a little round of applause."
Brown became a renowned wide receivers coach for the Vols from 1983-89, earning Tennessee football the nickname "Wide Receiver U." Cutcliffe was a young assistant when he arrived in Knoxville for his first college coaching job, working with tight ends, running backs and quarterbacks before he rose through the ranks to offensive coordinator in 1993 under coach Phillip Fulmer.
Brown and Cutcliffe shared an office in Stokley Athletic Center while they worked together to help lead Tennessee's offense under coach Johnny Majors in the 1980s.
"The office was so small, every day I knew what cologne Kippy wore. And Kippy was the best," Cutcliffe said. "Mark Twain, who I love to read – I'm not talking about Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn, I'm talking about his thoughts. And there's a quote I've always loved. He said, 'Never forget the things in life that made you smile.'
"Kippy Brown made me smile every day I was with him. I will never forget Kippy Brown. Pretty amazing man."
Brown was a trailblazer as the first Black quarterback to play at Sweetwater High School in 1969, and he led the Wildcats to back-to-back state championships (1971-72). He was also the first Black quarterback to play for Memphis, which was known as Memphis State when he played from 1974-77.
Brown spent 22 seasons as an NFL assistant, which included stints with the New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins, Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions and Houston Texans along with Seattle.
Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks:knoxnews.com/subscribe
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Why David Cutcliffe was moved by Marshawn Lynch at Kippy Brown's funeral in Sweetwater
