BROWN PICKS OFF MVP\Cornerback is surprise winner.

Byline: Michael Ventre Daily News Staff Writer

He isn't the Larry Brown who keeps moving from job to job. But today, he is just as famous.

"I thought he had a Pro Bowl season," said Dallas receiver Michael Irvin, minutes after the Cowboys beat Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XXX 27-17 Sunday and Brown was named the game's Most Valuable Player.

"Larry came into the biggest show in the world and won the MVP," teammate Nate Newton said of the team's starting right cornerback. "I don't know if this will put him in the Hall of Fame. But if he lives long enough to see another 30 Super Bowls, he'll be invited out on that field again (to be honored)."

What Brown did was put a nifty cap on an outstanding season, one that saw him amass a career-high six interceptions, tying him for the team lead with free safety Brock Marion. Although his two picks Sunday weren't of the spectacular-diving variety - indeed, he didn't take more than one or two steps out of place on either of the errant Neil O'Donnell deliveries - they still count.

And they definitely wounded the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"For the last eight weeks we hadn't made any turnovers," Pittsburgh running back Bam Morris said. "We made two big ones in this game. That was like a stab in the heart."

Credit Brown for delivering the blows. While Deion Sanders received most of the pre-game ballyhoo, his bookend Brown went about his business with little or no fanfare.

On Sunday, he received an honor none of the marquee Cowboys could rightfully claim.

On the first interception, he said: "I was very fortunate to get it. He (O'Donnell) and the receiver probably had a broken pattern or a little miscommunication. I don't care how I get them as long as I get them."

O'Donnell said the first one, which occurred in the third quarter and led to a Dallas touchdown and a 20-7 lead, was just a lousy attempt at a throw.

"It just got away from me," he said. "The first one just slipped totally out of my hand. Those things happen."

The second one occurred with 4:01 left in the game. Again, O'Donnell threw it right at Brown, who was standing in the flat waiting. It led to a short touchdown run by Emmitt Smith and the final 27-17 advantage.

"The second one, I had to go get it," said Brown, a former All-City player at L.A. High who also spent two years at Southwest Community College. "I made a great break on the ball. The slant was coming and I beat the receiver to it. They try to throw everything on timing and I was just able to get there first."

Said O'Donnell: "It was a hot read. There was a little miscommunication between the wide receivers and the quarterback."

Morris sounded more than a little peeved at O'Donnell's misfortune and Brown's prowess. "You have a miscommunication with the quarterback," he said, "you can't make those kinds of mistakes."

Brown's honor is especially gratifying because he endured a difficult season personally after the death of his two-month old son, Kristopher.

"I just thank God. He gave me the strength to get through this year," Brown said. "It was rough, but with the team and the players and the way they supported me through all the hard times, I've just got to give them credit."

Newton was asked how the Cowboys reacted to Brown's loss.

"When something tragic like that happens," he said, "you tell him that you're sorry, you give him your condolences, and then the quicker you put it behind you, the quicker he can put it behind him.

"Larry worked harder and used it as motivation."

He suffered through a painful time. Professionally, he was a forgotten man to all but a relative handful of pundits. Yet today, Larry Brown holds the most coveted individual award on a team of high-salaried superstars.

"It's been a great year for all of us," he said. "To me, it's a team MVP. I dedicate this one to Barry Switzer."

If there's any dedicating to be done, maybe it should be the other way around.

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PHOTO

Larry Brown (24) walks with Deion Sanders after the Cowboys beat the Steelers. Brown, who intercepted two passes to be chosen the MVP. Associated Press