Bengals LT Orlando Brown Jr., Late Father 'Zeus' Connected by Phantom, Spirit

The last time Orlando Brown Jr. saw his father alive, the former NFL star’s booming belly laugh was serenading his two oldest sons as they scurried to collect the spending money “Zeus” had playfully tossed out the window before driving away from the school dropoff line in his cherished Rolls-Royce Phantom.

The next time Orlando Jr. and Justin were supposed to see their dad was four days later on a football Friday. It was Justin’s 14th birthday, and Zeus had plans to roll up in his Phantom and take Justin to Orlando’s game before treating him to a weekend shopping spree.

But instead, it was their mom, Mira Brown, who showed up at school that day, her eyes and emotions raw from crying for an entire 60-minute drive as she rehearsed between sobs how she was going to tell her boys that their father and hero had died at just 40 years old.

It was Sept. 23, 2011 – 15 years ago today.

“Worst day of my life,” said Mira, who had been divorced from Zeus for six years but still maintained a close relationship.

“I drove like crazy because I knew my kids needed me, and because they were celebrity kids and I didn’t want them hearing it on ESPN or from classmates or whatever,” she recalled. “When I walked in and saw them, it was just heartbreaking.”

It could have been a six-minute drive, and she wouldn’t have made it in time.

Zeus, as his nickname suggested, was a near mythical figure in greater Baltimore, where he played 84 of his 129 NFL games and was a member of the inaugural Ravens team in 1996.

News of his death spread fast and forcefully, penetrating the walls of DeMatha Catholic High School, where Orlando and Justin were sitting in the same history class taught, ironically, by a Mr. Brown.

Richard Brown asked the class to say a prayer for Justin and Orlando, then DeMatha football coach Elijah Brooks came to the classroom and ushered the boys to the office, where they were informed their father was sick and their mother was on her way to pick them up.

“I had just gotten my first smart phone and had just created a Twitter,” Orlando said. “While we were waiting, I saw a tweet that said ‘#RIP Zeus.’”

He asked the principal if his dad died. Not knowing how much to divulge, the principal left the room. Justin cried. Orlando scoured his phone for more clarity.

“That’s one of the toughest moments I’ve ever had in coaching with the way it happened,” said Brooks, who currently is the University of South Florida running backs coach and in his 20th year in the profession.

“I’m trying to console them, waiting and waiting until their mom could get there,” he added. “It was extremely tough. It rocked everybody that day.”

Every Sept. 23 since has carried weight, mixed with cake. Mira bakes one for Justin, and she and youngest son Braxton sing “Happy Birthday.” They gather at one of their Atlanta homes to watch old game footage from Zeus’ career, and they Facetime Orlando in Cincinnati.

The sweet always eclipses the bitter on this day, but that will be especially true tonight.

Because history awaits this weekend, when Orlando will climb into his own Rolls-Royce Phantom, which he had custom built in tribute to his dad, and heads toward Paycor Stadium to catch a flight with his Bengals teammates to Pittsburgh.

His hands will be on the wheel, his foot on the gas. But Zeus will be driving him, just like old times.

“He made me promise him I’d play 10 years in the league,” Orlando said. “That has always motivated me.”

When the Bengals face the Steelers on Sunday, just four days after the anniversary of Zeus’ death, Orlando will tie his dad by playing his 129th career game.

“Oh, man, I didn’t realize I was that close,” he said when informed of the historic parallel. “That just gave me goosebumps. That’s a hell of a stat.”

Customizing a Memory

Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. (75) warms up before the NFL Week 2 game between the Houston Texans and the Cincinnati Bengals at Reliant Stadium in Houston on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

To some, a Rolls-Royce symbolizes luxury, status, wealth. For Orlando, it’s a connection.

When Zeus passed, much of his estate wound up being sold through the probate process. It’s not that Orlando was expecting to drive the Phantom as soon as he turned 16, if ever. But seeing so many of the things that mattered so much to his dad just disappearing felt like losing him all over again.

That’s why whenever he sees one of his Zeus’ jerseys, football cards or other mementos on Ebay, he buys them.

And it’s why his 2025 Rolls-Royce isn’t just another Phantom from the assembly line.

As part of a two-year custom build with numerous special and sentimental features, Orlando asked for dozens of lights to be inlayed in the ceiling, creating an exact constellation map of the day Zeus died.

“We saw a shooting star that night, so they made one that goes across the ceiling every so often,” he said.

Zeus also had symbolic motives in mind when he bought his Phantom near the end of his career.

“He actually bought it for his mom because he said he always wanted to drive her around in a Rolls-Royce and show her a different kind of life because they had it rough when he was growing up,” Mira said. “It was one of the dreams he had.”

“And he wanted the finest car to transport his kids, but he needed something they could all fit into because they were all so big.”

For Zeus, the Phantom symbolized a dream realized.

For Orlando, it was a promise kept.

“I always told myself that if I ever made enough money to buy three Rolls-Royces, that’s when I would buy one,” he said.

The money that could have gone to buying two more Rolls-Royces went instead to the vow he made after Zeus’ death.

“He went on stage at the funeral and he talked about his dad, of course, but then he told the whole audience in this quiet room, ‘Dad, I promise I’m going to take care of my brothers and make sure we’re all successful,’” Mira said. “That was pretty interesting for a 15-year-old to say. And he stayed with it.”

Losing a father can derail a teenager’s path through life, but Zeus’ boys never drifted.

“For 14 or 15 years, he instilled in us everything he knew,” Justin said. “When he was gone, that part stayed. Because of the upbringing he and our mom gave us; we turned out to be excellent people.”

The early foundation and the funeral proclamation have brought success and happiness to the family. Justin and Braxton own a tobacco company in Atlanta, while Mira is a syndicated radio host and podcaster, doing a show called “Hott Mama’s in the City” with her sister and cousin.

Fighting for Football

Zeus knew he couldn’t drive his sons forever. Not because they’d eventually get their driver’s license, but because they would have to be self-driven to succeed in life.

Initially he tried to steer Orlando away from football, but in eighth grade Orlando, who by then was well north of 400 pounds and woefully out of shape, insisted on playing.

The initial reviews weren’t great.

“He was overweight, slow, timid,” Brooks said. “No one would have believed you when he was 12 if you would have told them he’d be where he is now.”

Well, Zeus would have.

So would Mira.

“When he was 2 years old, he’d rather watch his dad’s football film than cartoons,” she said. “It was insane. I wish we had phones that could take video back then. I always knew he was going to play football.”

When Zeus died from diabetic ketoacidosis, which is caused by a lack of insulin, Orlando was barely two years into his football career. Though he was a sophomore bench warmer behind some offensive linemen who would earn Division I scholarships, he started drawing interest as well.

Less than a week before his dad’s death, Orlando took an unofficial visit to the University of Maryland. Two days later, Zeus dropped his sons off at school and dropped about $100 in cash on the ground and cackled as he drove off.

“He was always doing stuff like that,” Justin said. “He loved to laugh, and he loved to make us laugh.”

Though that was the last time Orlando saw his dad, it wasn’t the last time they spoke.

Orlando stayed with his grandfather during the week because he lived much closer to the school, and every night he would call his dad. On Wednesday, Sept. 21, two days before Zeus’ death, Orlando needed more than just a check-in.

“I had gotten in a fight at practice, and I was pretty upset,” he recalled.

The news was music to Zeus as he – and the DeMatha coaches – had been urging Orlando to be more aggressive.

“He was telling me it was OK to fight,” Orlando said. “He was reminding me to stay physical, to maintain that mindset. We talked for a long time. It feels like the deepest conversation we ever had. Maybe it was because it was the last one, but something was different about his tone.

“I remember hanging up and not necessarily feeling unsettled, but I didn’t feel like everything was good,” he added. “I felt like something was off.”

It turned out Zeus, who was an undiagnosed diabetic, had been having flu symptoms and was self-treating by drinking a lot of juice.

“His sugar just went sky high, and he went into a coma,” Orlando said.

To Infinity and Beyond

The investigation into the cause of Zeus’ death delayed his funeral for a couple weeks, and shortly afterward, Mira moved the family to Atlanta, where her sister lived.

“It was too much pressure to be in Maryland,” she said. “Everything reminded them of their dad. Just being at school, being dropped off by me instead of him. I knew we needed a change, so I packed everything up and we left in the middle of the night around midnight.

“It was the best choice I could have made for my sons.”

Orlando replayed the final phone call with Zeus on loop in his mind, using it to focus on his aggression and physicality at Peachtree Ridge High School.

Maybe too much.

He put his full attention on football, and his grades dipped to where he had a 1.7 GPA. Eventually, he heard his dad’s voice guiding him in matters other than football, helping him find his way to the University of Oklahoma where he continued to grow into his talent, personality and manhood.

“I don’t think I ever truly accepted his death,” Orlando admitted. “I don’t want to use it as an excuse, but it was hard growing up without a dad. There are so many things that come up in life when you need to lean on your dad for those situations.

“I didn’t have him, but I feel very fortunate for the knowledge he would give me,” he added. “A lot of it wasn’t knowledge you would typically give a 15-year-old. Fortunately he foresaw life for me, and in a way he was still there to help guide me. Fatherhood never ends.”

Today, Orlando steers his own sons, Orlando III, 5, and Sonny, 2, through life.

And he drives them places in his Phantom.

“They love it. They call it the spaceship because of the stars on the ceiling,” he said.

Orlando’s a better football player and a better father because of all the advice and lessons his dad imparted on him, many of which came on those long drives to and from school in the Phantom, Zeus with 129 NFL games behind him, and Orlando with 129 – and counting – stretched out on the road ahead.

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