 In December 1983, he was seriously considered for the head coaching position at LSU which had been vacated after Jerry Stovall was fired, but the position instead went to Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Bill Arnsparger.However, Brown chose to leave Appalachian State to accept the position of offensive coordinator at Oklahoma under head coach Barry Switzer.Following Brown's departure, Appalachian State promoted assistant coach Sparky Woods to head coach.