Brownson joined the Browns as head coach Kevin Stefanski’s chief of staff in 2020 and was named assistant wide receivers coach in 2022.
CLEVELAND — Cleveland Browns assistant wide receivers coach Callie Brownson, who broke barriers as the first woman to coach an NFL position group in a regular season game, will depart the Browns organization to lead national team operations for USA Football as it prepares for the 2028 Summer Olympics.
USA Football announced Friday that Brownson will become the organization’s Senior Director of High Performance & National Team Operations, a position that will make her a critical part of the staff responsible for “selecting, training and leading the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams that represent the United States on the world’s stage,” including the flag football teams that will represent the country in Los Angeles in 2028.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity to join USA Football and help the U.S. National Teams continue their international success in flag and tackle football through the 2028 Olympics and beyond,” Brownson said in a statement. “This is a historic time for football’s global growth with the Olympics on the horizon. I’m thrilled to be part of what USA Football is building as we look to uphold our standard against improving competition across the world.”
Brownson joined the Browns as head coach Kevin Stefanski’s chief of staff in 2020 after spending the 2019 season as a full-time coaching intern on Sean McDermott’s Buffalo Bills staff. She began as Cleveland’s assistant wide receivers coach in 2022. Since then, Amari Cooper became the first Browns receiver to record back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and Jerry Jeudy, whom Cleveland acquired for cheap over the offseason, earned his first Pro Bowl nod after racking up a career-best 1,229 receiving yards.
For USA Football, Brownson will oversee operations of the national team programs and implement the organization’s a “long-term strategic plan, the governing body said. Brownson is no stranger to the American national team, having won several gold medals at international events for USA Football as both a player and a coach.
“Callie has been part of the USA Football family for many years, and her leadership, athlete development and program building skills as part of our U.S. National Teams have consistently stood out throughout the past decade,” said Scott Hallenbeck, CEO of USA Football. “Her expertise and experience across all levels of the sport, along with her understanding of the aspects of competition, team dynamics and logistics unique to the international game, will be invaluable as football enters the most internationally competitive period in the sport’s history.”
Brownson was the head coach of the Women’s U.S. Tackle National Team that won the program’s fourth consecutive gold medal at the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Women’s World Championships in Finland in 2022.
Brownson, a graduate of George Mason University and Virginia native, also had a decorated career as a player. From 2010-2017, she was a five-time team captain and four-time All-American for the D.C. Divas of the tackle Women’s Football Alliance, winning league championships in 2015 and 2016. A safety, running back and slot receiver, Brownson also won IFAF gold medals as a player in 2013 and 2017.
Brownson became Division I college football’s first woman to coach full-time when she joined Dartmouth College head coach Buddy Teevens’ staff as offensive quality control coach. She went on to make history again when she served as the Browns tight ends coach during a Week 12 win in the 2020 season, becoming the first woman to coach a position group in an NFL regular season game. Brownson returned to the Browns sideline to fill in as wide receivers coach for the last game of the 2021 campaign.
That glass-ceiling moment in 2020 hardly came as a surprise to Stefanski, who told 3News’ Jim Donovan at the time that Brownson had been “a great utility player for us, and she can fill in anywhere.”
“She is involved with the offense, defense and special teams and what she does behind the scenes for us,” Stefanski said of Brownson. “Callie will do anything. She is folding towels in the equipment room because we are down a few people there. Anything it takes.”