Marlton mayor gets kick out of Ravens job

NEW ORLEANS - Randy Brown is leading a double life.

He is in his fifth season as the kicking consultant for the Baltimore Ravens, who will face the San Francisco 49ers Sunday in Super Bowl XLVII.

He also is the mayor of his hometown, Marlton, N.J.

"I've got the best of both worlds," Brown said Tuesday at Super Bowl Media Day. "I'm helping grow the town I was born and raised in. And then I get to live my dream by coaching football and making a difference here.

"I've got two jobs that really aren't jobs. I love doing them both. I get excited to wake up and be mayor and I get excited to wake up and be a coach in the NFL."

Brown has spent 21 years as a coach and kicking consultant, including 2-year stints with the Bears and Eagles and the last 5 years with the Ravens under head coach John Harbaugh.

The Ravens' rookie kicker, Justin Tucker, had the fifth best field goal accuracy rate (.909) in the league this season, missing just three of 33 attempts, and had the sixth best touchback percentage (57.6). Punter Sam Koch finished eighth in net average (40.8). Tucker's predecessor, Billy Cundiff, was a Pro Bowler.

"These are Jerry Rosburg's special teams," Brown said of the Ravens' special-teams coordinator. "I'm just a piece in it. The system Jerry creates with his special teams allows us to thrive."

Brown is the only full-time kicking consultant in the NFL. Former kicker Chris Boniol served in that capacity for the Cowboys, but was recently promoted to assistant special-teams coach.

"This is my fifth year of doing it," Brown said when asked how he manages to juggle running a town of 42,000 people and working for an NFL team 100 miles away. "So I think I've mastered it by now.

"Thank God for iPhones. Thank God for my wife [Tricia]. We have a township manager that handles the day-to-day activities. We've got 14 departments in Marlton. We've got four great council people that help me. We do a lot of our meetings on Mondays and Tuesdays. Then I come down here on Wednesday."

Brown served as an assistant to Harbaugh in '04 and '05 when John was the Eagles' special-teams coordinator. But that was more of a part-time role.

"That '04 season was great," Brown said. "I got to help out on the field during practices. I went to the Super Bowl with them. But being part of this now, it's the real deal for me."

Brown loves coaching in the NFL. But he also loves politics and talks openly about a possible run for governor down the road. A pipe dream? Maybe, but don't sell the guy short.

"What I've done forever is I just take one day at a time," he said. "John talks about stacking [good] practices. I talk about stacking good days.

"If there's a chance for me to one day be governor or run for state senate or Congress, I think if I keep doing a great job as mayor, that day might come. I'm only 45. I've got 6 years as mayor and am only 45."

Brown's father died 12 years ago of a brain tumor at the age of 57. He said watching his dad die so young has caused him to "live every day like it's my last."

Said Brown: "I love my life today, being mayor and coaching in the NFL. But we'll have some decisions down the road. I know I can count on friends like Jerry and John to help me make those decisions.

"I've got some great political advisers to help me make decisions. You can never rule out anything. A chance to run for governor in 2017? Right now, I'm focused on winning a Super Bowl. But I never want to close any door. "