Ray Brown was a Cardinal before, as a player, so long ago that the Tempe building that now houses his office wasn’t built yet.
The team’s new offensive line coach, who played 20 years in the NFL, started out as a 1986 eighth-round draft pick of the then-St. Louis Cardinals. He was still with the franchise when they moved to Arizona in 1988 and the team practiced at the closed-down East High School in Phoenix.
“I am still wrapping my mind around it,” Brown said. “Not only has the city grown but really the brand has really become something else.