Phil Brown

Born in South Shields, County Durham, Brown started his career playing Sunday league football for South Shields side Red Duster in the South Shields Business Houses League, in the same team as Ray Dunbar and Bobby Davison, who went on to play for Derby County and Leeds United. As a professional, Brown played at full back for many years with Hartlepool United, followed by a spell at Halifax Town (with fellow north-easterner Billy Ayre at both clubs and under him at the latter), In 1988, he moved to Bolton Wanderers, winning the Associate Members Cup in 1989. Brown joined Blackpool in 1994, playing under Sam Allardyce until 1996 while also being his assistant manager.

Coaching

Brown's first coaching role was as assistant to Sam Allardyce at Blackpool. He returned to Bolton Wanderers after his playing career ended and served as assistant manager to Colin Todd. Following Todd's departure in 1999, he took charge of the team as caretaker manager, winning four games out of five, until the appointment of Sam Allardyce. He then served as Allardyce's assistant for six years, before deciding to forge his own career as a manager.

Derby County

Brown's first full-time senior management position was at Derby County, where he succeeded George Burley in June 2005. His time at Derby County proved to be unsuccessful and he was sacked just seven months into his tenure in January 2006, after a 6–1 league defeat against Coventry City, followed by a 3–1 defeat to Colchester in the FA Cup fourth round. Derby were in 19th place when Brown departed.

Hull City

Championship and promotion

Brown was appointed as first-team coach at Hull City on 27 October 2006 under Phil Parkinson, and took over as joint caretaker manager alongside Colin Murphy on 4 December after Parkinson's sacking, with Hull in 22nd place in the Football League Championship. After taking Hull out of the relegation zone with three wins and a draw in the six matches as caretaker manager, he was appointed as the permanent manager of the club on 4 January 2007, while Murphy continued as his assistant. Brown went on to lead The Tigers to Championship safety and…

Brown is a trained electrician, and put his trade to use by carrying out electrical work at Southend's training ground. As of November 2025, he was living in the Cotswolds.

Player

Bolton Wanderers

Associate Members' Cup: 1988–89 Individual

PFA Team of the Year: 1987–88 Fourth Division, 1989–90 Third Division, 1990–91 Third Division

Manager

Hull City

Football League Championship play-offs: 2008 Southend United

Football League Two play-offs: 2015 Football League Trophy runner-up: 2012–13 Individual

Premier League Manager of the Month: September 2008 Football League Two Manager of the Month: November 2013, September 2014, November 2014, April 2015 National League North Manager of the Month: November 2024, March 2025