After four years working as a youth coach and assistant manager of
VfL Bochum, Brinkmann was hired by
Wuppertaler SV from January 2016 as the U-19 manager and he would also serve as an office manager. On 28 November 2016, he left the position as U-19 manager and continued only as an office manager. He left the club at the end of the 2016–17 season and was appointed as the manager of
TuRU Düsseldorf. He was fired on 29 October 2017. On 30 January 2018,
FC Gütersloh 2000 announced that Brinkmann would be the manager for the 2018–19 season. His twin-brother, Tim Brinkmann, was also hired at the club as the sporting director. Both left the club on 26 February 2019. ==Honours==