Robert Brazile Jr.
Mobile County native Robert Brazile Jr. (1953- ), nicknamed “Dr. Doom” after a Marvel Comics character, was a star linebacker for Jackson State University and the Houston Oilers (present-day Tennessee Titans). Brazile played for the Oilers for ten years (1975-84). He was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2005, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2007, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018. Furthermore, Brazile was honored with membership in the Titans-Oilers Ring of Honor.
Robert Lorenzo Brazile Jr., was born on February 7, 1953, in Mobile to Ola Mae Brazile, a teacher, and Robert Brazile Sr. Brazile learned to play football with his brothers in the family’s backyard. He attended an all-Black school until high school, when he was zoned for the newly integrated Vigor High School in Prichard, Mobile County. The school faced racial unrest after its desegregation in 1970; in fact, the National Guard had to walk Brazile to class for his protection. He starred in football (playing both tight end and linebacker), baseball, and basketball at Vigor High. Brazile was named the Defensive Most Valuable Player in the Alabama High School All-Star Game in 1971, the year he graduated.
Brazile played college football from 1971-74 for Jackson State University, a historically Black college and university (HBCU), in Jackson, Mississippi. In 1972, he switched from tight end to linebacker, the position he excelled at for the remainder of his career. He broke a Jackson State University record in 1974 with 129 solo tackles and 79 assists. In 1974, Brazile also led the Southwestern Atlantic Conference (SWAC) conference with nine interceptions, was an All-SWAC first team award winner, and was selected as a Sheridan Black College All-American (an honor granted to football players at historically Black colleges and universities), while also playing in the Senior Bowl.
The Houston Oilers’ general manager and head coach Oail Andrew “Bum” Phillips drafted Brazile in the first round of the 1975 NFL draft with the sixth overall pick. (The Chicago Bears drafted Brazile’s superstar college teammate from Jackson State, Walter Payton, two selections later.) In 1975, Houston posted its first winning season since 1967 with a 10-4 record. That year, Brazile recorded seven unofficial sacks and was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
As the team’s star outside linebacker, Brazile helped the Oilers transform their defense from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4 defense; in other words, the Oilers employed three defensive linemen at the line of scrimmage and four linebackers instead of the more popular configuration of four defensive linemen and three linebackers. The 3-4 defense enabled Brazile to thrive, giving him the flexibility to blitz, or quickly rush toward the quarterback, advance to the line of scrimmage to tackle a running back, or commit to covering receivers, depending on the play and the situation. Offenses had to change their strategies because their halfbacks were not strong enough to block Brazile, prompting opponents to use two players instead of one to block him from reaching the quarterback.
From 1978 to 1980, the Oilers’ had three consecutive winning seasons, with Brazile playing an integral role on the team’s defense. In 1978, Brazile had his best year, with 185 tackles, 95 solo and 90 assisted. The Oilers reached the American Football Conference (AFC) Championship game in the 1978 and 1979 seasons, losing both times to eventual the Super Bowl champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Oilers also made the playoffs in 1980 but lost in the Wild Card game.
In his career, Brazile was named to six All-Pro teams. He was a first-team All-Pro selection for five consecutive years (1976-80) and played in seven consecutive Pro Bowls (football All-Star games), from 1977-83. Brazile was selected to be part of pro football’s All-Decade Team for the 1970s. When Brazile retired in 1984, he had played 147 consecutive games, the most in Houston Oilers history at that time. He had 1,281 career tackles, the second highest in Oilers/Titans history.
After his first wife, Cookie, died in car crash in December 1984, Brazile returned to Mobile to raise their two children. He married Brenda Brazile, a schoolteacher, in 1993, and together they raised six children. Along with Oiler ex-teammate Ken Burroughs, Brazile coached a minor league Mobile football team until he suffered heart problems, culminating in a quadruple-bypass heart surgery in 2004. After recovering, Brazile became a middle school special education teacher in Mobile. After his retirement from teaching, he pursued his hobbies of fishing and tennis; like many retired athletes, Brazile has lingering pain from his playing days.
Brazile was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018. In 2025, the City of Mobile honored Brazile with a nine-foot statue in its Hall of Fame Walk, located outside of the Mobile Convention Center.
