Jahmal Brown - Football Coach - University of Toledo Athletics

Jahmal Brown

Title:
Defensive Coordinator/Safeties Coach
Email:
jahmal.brown@utoledo.edu

Jahmal Brown joined the Toledo football coaching staff as the defensive coordinator and safeties coach in December of 2025. The upcoming season will be his eighth working alongside Head Coach Mike Jacobs.

In 2025, the Mercer rushing defense ranked 11th in the FCS, allowing 110.2 yards per game. The Bears ranked third in the nation in team sacks (3.50) and fifth nationally in team tackles for loss (8.0). Brown oversaw a defense that had held eight of their last 11 opponents to 72 or fewer rushing yards. During his first season at Mercer, the Bears paced all 123 FCS teams in five defensive statistical categories, including forced turnovers (34), passes intercepted (25), rushing defense (70.8 rushing yards/game), defensive touchdowns (8) and sacks (3.29 sacks/game).

Prior to joining Jacobs’ staff at Mercer, Brown spent two seasons at Youngstown State where he helped limit opponents to just 122 rushing yards per game, ranking 10^th in the NCAA in 2023. Across his two seasons at YSU, the Penguins ranked among the top teams in the nation, totaling 63 sacks (2.6 sacks/game) and posted an overall record of 15-9 with Brown on the sidelines.

Before his time at Youngstown State, Brown served as defensive coordinator at Lenoir-Rhyne alongside Jacobs, helping the Bears to an 11-4 clip during the spring and fall 2021 seasons. Lenoir-Rhyne posted the nation’s fifth-best passing efficiency defense (95.32) that season and held opponents to just 16.4 points per game (16th in the NCAA).

Prior to his stint at Lenoir-Rhyne, Brown was the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame (Ohio) under Jacobs and helped the Falcons post a 25-3 record across two seasons (2018-19), two Mountain East Conference championships and a pair of NCAA Division II Playoffs, including an appearance in the semifinals. Notre Dame held opponents to just 2.6 yards per rushing attempt (86.4 yards/game) while totaling 90 sacks (3.2/game) and forcing 57 turnovers, including 28 interceptions.

Brown began coaching as a graduate assistant at Bowling Green from 2011-13, helping the Falcons to the 2013 Mid-American Conference Championship as well as the 2012 Northrup and Gruman Military Bowl and the 2013 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. He also coached the defensive backs and linebackers at Saginaw Valley State during the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

A four-year starter for Bowling Green as a safety, Brown played in 50 consecutive games, including 48 straight starts, from 2006-09 and captained the Falcons during his senior season.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Brown earned his bachelor’s degree in education from Bowling Green in 2010 and completed his graduate degree in sports administration at BGSU in 2014. Jahmal and his wife, Janelle, have three daughters, Ayanna, Amara and Amiyah.