Innovative Paul Brown voted NFL’s greatest game changer

Paul Brown, the innovative coach and powerful team owner who brought dozens of improvements to the sport, has been voted pro football’s greatest game changer.

A nationwide panel of 57 media members selected the founder of the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals, giving him eight first-place votes and 2,359 points. Brown beat out Pete Rozelle, widely considered the best commissioner in pro sports history, who earned 2,227 points despite having the most first-place votes (14).

Brown, inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967 — a year before the Bengals were born — is credited with bringing many now-common elements to the sport like game plans and playbooks; the use of game film in scouting; coaches or coordinators calling plays; a radio transmitter inside the quarterback’s helmet for play calling; and the helmet facemask.

___

More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL