Keelon Brookins was hired in January 2026.
Brookins was the secondary coach at Coastal Carolina during the 2025 campaign. The Chanticleers picked off 12 passes and recorded 41 breakups as a team. The Coastal defensive backs accounted for nine of the INTs. Safety Xamarion Gordon tied for the team lead with three INTs while also leading Coastal Carolina with 71 total tackles. Fellow safety Myles Woods also picked off three passes and tied for the team lead with six breakups. Woods was named All-Sun Belt second team, while Gordon was a third team member.
Before Coastal Carolina, Brookins spent 2024 at LA Tech, coaching the corners. LA Tech’s ’24 defense finished the season as the No. 12-ranked total defense in the nation, allowing just 308.4 yards per game.
In 2023, Brookins’ defensive backs at Northern Iowa combined for seven interceptions, 11 pass breakup and 301 total tackles. He tutored UNI senior defensive back Woo Governor, who earned first team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors after tallying 62 total tackles, including three for loss with two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
While at Kent State in 2022, Brookins played a large role in the success of third team All-MAC defensive back Nico Bolden, who led the Golden Flashes with 103 total tackles and ranked ninth nationally in solo tackles per game with 5.7.
During Brookins’ first stint at Northern Iowa (2018-2021), he was instrumental in the development and coaching of nine all-conference defensive backs while helping the Panthers reach the FCS Playoffs three times during his first four years on staff, including a trip to the FCS quarterfinals in 2019.
Brookins’ defensive backs played a large role in the Panthers’ 14 interceptions in the fall of 2021 to aid the efforts of the nation’s 13th-ranked scoring defense at 18.0 points allowed per game. Defensive backs Benny Sapp III (first team) and Omar Brown (honorable mention) were named All-MVFC.
Despite the COVID-19-shortened spring season in 2021, three UNI DBs earned first team all-league honors under Brookins’ tutelage as the Panthers’ secondary played a vital role in the nation’s sixth-ranked scoring defense, yielding just 15.3 points per game.
The 2019 season saw the Panthers’ defense intercept 19 passes while scoring four defensive touchdowns, which ranked third and fourth in the country, respectively. Four Panther defensive backs earned postseason All-MVFC distinction, headlined by first team selection Omar Brown, who ranked third nationally with three fumbles recovered while his six interceptions ranked 20th.
In 2018, the Panthers ranked sixth nationally with 18 interceptions as part of a defense that ranked seventh nationally in defensive touchdowns (four) and 17th nationally in scoring defense (21.3). DB Xavior Williams earned first team All-MVFC honors after recording 42 total tackles, 29 solo tackles and four interceptions.
Prior to his coaching career, Brookins played at Wisconsin before transferring to UNI in 2017. He recorded 33 tackles with 6.0 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks and a pair of interceptions to earn MVFC All-Newcomer team honors as a senior while helping the Panthers earn a trip to the second round of the FCS Playoffs.
Brookins graduated from Wisconsin in 2016 with a degree in education before obtaining his master’s degree in Leisure, Youth, and Human Services from Northern Iowa in 2022. A native of St. Paul, Minn., he is married to his wife, Olivia Arkell-Brookins, and has a son, Hendrix, and a daughter, Harlee.
