In a story about Brown's adviser Brian Butler that ran in Wednesday's edition of the New York Times, East coach Brian Byers criticized Butler's Potential Players program and Brown's unwillingness to put the team first.
Byers did not return phone calls from The Eagle seeking comment on Wednesday.
"It's always been him and then everybody else," Byers said about Brown to the New York Times. "Our team chemistry was nonexistent."
Brown, rated the No. 1 running back recruit in the country by Scout.com and Rivals.com, was at his uncle's house in Nebraska when he read the article.
"I couldn't believe it. He never came out and said anything to me," Brown said. "We always had an open line of communication. This is the first time I've heard about it. If this is how he felt, why didn't he address it?"
Brown rushed for 1,850 yards and 31 touchdowns for East his senior year. East changed to a spread offense before the season, and Brown never complained publicly about the change in offensive philosophy.
"I didn't agree with the offense, but I bought into it. I rode with it because that's what the coach wanted us to do," Brown said. "Team chemistry. I had my offensive line over for dinner on Thursdays. I offered to play wide receiver in some sets. I was willing to do whatever if it was going to get the win."
The Times said Byers felt Butler promoted a selfish approach that showed in Brown's play. "It's all about me, me, me," Byers said in the article. "That's not what football is about. We're a proven fact. We had supposedly the best football player in the country in high school, and we went 6-3. We didn't have a team because of that."
Butler has been working with Bryce and older brother Arthur Brown for four years. While Butler admits to not cheering for "teams," he disagrees with the perception that he promotes selfish play.
"I am a fan of players and not teams," Butler said. "Because of my business I can't support a specific team. However, I teach team-building and stress the importance of team chemistry. So if I was telling players to be all about them, I'd be doing the exact opposite of what I believe in."
Butler believes that Byers disliked him before he became the head coach at East before the 2006 season. Even though he detected it, Butler said that he never went over Byers' head when it came to recruiting.
"He had an opinion of me before he met me," Butler said. "I never had any ill will against Coach Byers. I don't know why he has anything against me. We always kept things open and opened the door for him to be there, but he never accepted."
Brown orally committed to Miami last February, however has decided to hold off on signing until he takes his final two visits. He is expected to sign in March, Butler said. Brown has Miami, Kansas State, Oregon, Southern California and Tennessee still on his list.
"God is in total control of this," Brown said. "I'm just praying about it. I know that where ever I end up it will be his will."