 Collier was fired after the 1961 season and Brown re @-@ hired him as an assistant . Art Modell , the owner of the Browns , then fired Brown in 1963 and gave the head coaching job to Collier . Under Collier , the Browns reached the NFL championship game four times and won once , in 1964 . Struggling with hearing loss , Collier retired after the 1970 season , although he remained a scout and quarterbacks coach for several more years . He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1976 and retired to Texas , where he died in 1983 . Collier was well @-@ liked by players and renowned as a good sportsman and student of the game . The Kentucky chapter of the NFL Players Association in 2007 established the Blanton Collier Award in his honor . The Paris High School football field is named after him . 
