Clarence Brooks: 1951-2016
Clarence Brooks passed at the age of 65 on Saturday, September 17th after a battle with cancer. Brooks was beloved in Baltimore as, at the time of his death, the longest-tenured coach on the Ravens staff.
He was the team’s defensive line coach since 2005 and proved to be a crucial part of the team’s success, including their very successful 2016 season that ended in a Super Bowl. During the coaching turnover from Brian Billick to John Harbaugh, Brooks was retained as a part of the Ravens staff.
He helped lead the Ravens defense to great heights throughout more than the latter half of the Ray Lewis era, coaching Pro Bowlers such as Haloti Ngata and Kelly Gregg during his time with the team. Brooks was an athlete himself, playing at the University of Massachusetts before coaching in his first role in 1976, coaching defensive ends.
He’d break into the NFL with the Chicago Bears in 1993, being apart of the Browns and Dolphins staffs before earning his role in Baltimore in 2005. Nicknamed “C.B.”, he was a friendly face in the Ravens locker room and a favorite amongst the players, even those on the opposite side of the football.