Let me first start off by saying that is was an honor to interview Coach Jason Brown during our recent podcast- “On Tap Talk.” Coach Brown was a very professional, but comical guy. Being a college athlete myself, I have been able to relate to him on a very personal level since watching season 3 of the Netflix series “Last Chance U.” A big fan of the show since it came out, I have been obsessed with the mic’d up style of television from a very young age. After watching the unique episodes of the award winning Netflix series, I knew that I had to get Coach Brown on for an interview during one of our episodes.
Coach Jason Brown
For those “bums” that don’t know, Coach Brown is the Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator for the Independence Community College Pirates. Brown is a key character in 8 episodes of the hit Netflix series television show, “Last Chance U.” Last Chance U is a documentary television series that is produced by the streaming service- Netflix.
The show explores football teams and features numerous collegiate athletes that have been removed from Division 1 rosters due to academic misconduct or disciplinary reasons. The players then try to redeem themselves by enrolling into a JUCO to better themselves and to get back onto the right track in order to compete at the level they once were. The first and second season followed the East Mississippi Community College coach, Buddy Stephens in the middle of nowhere Mississippi until transitioning to Independence Community College in the middle of nowhere Kansas for the show’s third season.
Last Chance U
The Netflix show was, in fact, invited back to EMCC for a third season but the producers of the show decided to move the show to Independence to explore a new location and school that is much different than the winning culture at East Mississippi. Before 2017, ICC had ended it’s 2016 season at 5-4, which is the first winning season that the school has had in the past 10 years. With the addition of Coach Jason Brown, the Pirates now have had a very successful recruiting campaign. They are landing players with much more talent than they have had in past years. Without giving any spoilers to the show, Coach Brown has definitely turned the program around. He’s put Independence, Kansas on the map!
Earlier this week, (with the help of business partner, Mike Brown) we sent a direct message (via twitter) to Coach Brown, asking for a chance to ask him a few questions on our newly born podcast. Being professional in every possible way that we could have been, we were hopeful that Coach would see the message and respond with a time that would work for him. Without disclosing some personal messages between the two of us, let’s just say that Coach Brown started the conversation off by what he does best- breaking the ice with a few curse words that just got us even more excited for the interview. We can’t disclose what the message really said but let’s just say it went something like this;
Interview
Belly Up: “Hey Coach, sorry to bother you, but would you be interested in calling in during our new podcast to answer a few questions that we had about yourself, your football team, the Netflix series and your coaching style? We have tried talking to your manager about the opportunity but have not had a rapid response as of yet. Thank you for your time and good luck this season!”
Coach Jason Brown:
“Fuck it then, I’ll do it myself. Set up the time and let me know.”
From his response, I knew that this would be an awesome interview and a great chance to get our podcast known to the everyday eye. My crew and I then sat down to interview Coach Brown as he called in from the campus of ICC in Independence, Kansas. Coach Brown was very passionate with his answers while also adding some of his usual, comical rhetoric that you see a lot in the show. After dropping a few F bombs here and there, adding some personal experiences from his time growing up and describing what it’s really like to have a camera on you 24/7, the interview went as well as I could have imagined. It was fun, enjoyable, comical and just a positive experience for our talk show crew. If I had to speak for Coach Brown, I’d have to say that he enjoyed the interview as well.
Throughout the podcast, we got some inside info on whether or not Last Chance U is coming back to Indy for a second season (being season 4). We also found out that a star player just committed to a major D1 contender. We may have even found out if a very likeable character from the season, (a.k.a Bobby Bruce) is still back in Independence after a false accusation was sorted out over this past summer. How much is true? You’ll have to find out for yourself by listening to our interview with Coach Brown during our latest episode of “On Tap Talk” which can be viewed on our YouTube page, the “On Tap” page on our Belly Up website, or our twitter page (@OnTapTalk).
‘Til Next Time
All in all, this was one of my most memorable and enjoyable experiences throughout my short time in the journalism world. I will be rooting for Coach Brown and the Independence team during the upcoming season! Once again, a big shout out and thank you goes to Coach Brown. Also, my podcast crew of James Weircinski, Chris Miller (Tex), and Jake Vanko for allowing the interview to go smoothly while also adding insightful questions and comical sports issues during the entire podcast. We look forward to adding more interviews to our show in the future, as well as mid-season updates from Coach Jason Brown himself!
That’s simply a fact. Thanks for reading! Follow me on Instagram and Twitter– @jcmoore19!
