After nine years at Tennessee Tech, Watson Brown announced his retirement on Wednesday.
"It's time," Brown told the Tennesseean. "A lot went into it. Forty-three years of this (as a coach), 31 as a head coach, over 3,000 athletes that have crossed my desk. I didn't plan on staying here this long. I came here to win one (Ohio Valley Conference championship) and did that."
Brown stayed, though, to build the program for the next coach.
"The way we won it I would've walked out (and the) cupboard would've been bare. Real bare, and I did not want to do that.... I think I can walk out with it in great shape with a lot of good young kids. I just don't think I have the 'it' factor anymore. I don't have the 'it' it takes to get it done for the kids. It's time for me to look to do something else."
The older brother of Mack Brown, his coaching career began as a graduate assistant at Vanderbilt in 1973 and later served as head coach at Austin Peay, Cincinnati, Rice, Vanderbilt, UAB and Tennessee Tech.
He leaves Tennessee Tech with a career record of 136-211-1. His 211 career losses are a major college football record, and last year Ivan Maisel wrote a great piece about his record number of losses proves his excellence as a coach.