Braun is from Wales, Wisconsin, where he attended Kettle Moraine High School.[1] Braun began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Winona State University, his alma mater, in 2008. In 2010 he was made the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Culver-Stockton. In 2011 he returned to Winona State[2] where he worked as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach[3] until the end of the 2014 season. In 2015 he became the defensive line coach at UC Davis[4] where he stayed until the end of the 2016 season. In 2017 he was made the defensive line coach and run game coordinator at Northern Iowa.[5] In 2018 he was made the outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator. He was named the defensive coordinator and safeties coach at North Dakota State University in January 2019.[6][7][8]
Northwestern
2023 Season
Braun was hired by head coach Pat Fitzgerald as defensive coordinator at Northwestern in January 2023.[9][10] After head coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired amid allegations of widespread hazing within the football program, Braun was named Northwestern's interim head coach.[11] The week after Northwestern broke its 14-game road losing streak by defeating Wisconsin, Braun was made Northwestern's permanent head coach.[12]Northwestern finished the regular season with a 7–5 record—the most wins for any first-year Northwestern football coach since 1903—and qualified for a Bowl game for the first time since 2020. [13] Braun was named the 2023 Big Ten Coach of the Year for his turnaround of the program. [14] He led his team to a victory with the Wildcats at the Las Vegas Bowl--against the Utah Utes--on December 23, 2023. [15] Braun is the first Northwestern head coach to lead a team to a bowl in his opening season.