The next athletic director for the Poplar Bluff Mules is a lifelong educator, having amassed 28 years of coaching experience in the greater St. Louis area.
In addition to serving under the mentorship of multiple athletic directors and coaches of competitive high school sports programs, he is a history buff, having taught the subject since he completed his undergraduate degree.
“As an educator, my approach is not just sports, it’s sports and activities—we have to pour just as much into theater,” said Joe Brown, who was hired by the Board of Education in March, along with Assistant Athletic Director Jake Nickelson. “We want to help nurture minds. Don’t teach them what to think, but how to think.”
Born on the southside of Chicago, and having grown up in the suburb of Joliet, Ill., Brown recalled being influenced in a positive direction by coaches and teachers as a young man. He attended Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph on a football scholarship and earned his bachelor's in history.
He later acquired his specialist degree in administration from Lindenwood University in St. Charles, where he also earned his master's in education. Over the past few years, he transitioned to school administration, having most recently served as assistant principal of a middle school in Parkway, where his career as a football coach began in 1997.
While being employed by several school systems, Brown's most extensive stretch was with the Ferguson-Florissant School District, where he served as Social Studies Department Chair. After a decade of working as assistant football coach and defensive coordinator for McCluer North High, he spent two years as head coach.
“We’ve already had meaningful discussions about ways to enhance facilities, strengthen the culture and create a championship atmosphere for all of Mules athletics," said PBHS physical education instructor Jeff Mannon, who coaches football, track and wrestling. "With Coach Brown's background, including three decades of experience in the St. Louis area coaching under some of the best names and at highly successful programs, he brings invaluable insight into what it takes to build and sustain championship-level teams, schools and facilities."
Brown said he considers the practice field and court to be an "extension of the classroom" for reaching students. "It's unbelievable what you can do when you invest that time," he explained. “These kids have so much inside that we have to validate; sports and activities could be used as that bridge. It’s a cheat code.”
He moved into school leadership in 2021, starting with a dean of students position at Normandy Schools Collaborative to "use my coaching abilities to help coach my teachers,” he recalled. But at times he felt more like “the dean of discipline instead of curriculum,” since he says it was an area that came naturally to him: “I kept wearing the same hat so much.”
Brown expressed that he finds it "invigorating," returning to athletics, especially in the role of director overseeing all district sports programming for the first time. "I don't have to do this" at this stage in his career; "I want to pour love into the legacy of other people."
Brown, who has a daughter Ayla that just began college at Missouri State University in Springfield, explained that he had been looking to relocate to a smaller town and “feels home” here. According to Mannon, the goal moving forward is to restore the championship spirit in Poplar Bluff, "with packed stadiums and gyms and a community fully invested in and proud of the young athletes who pour their heart and soul into their sports, their education and their personal growth."
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Cutline: Joe Brown has been hired to succeed Kent Keith as athletic director for Poplar Bluff Schools.