Thomas Brown was a no-name coach when he arrived to join the Chicago Bears in January. Prior to 2023, he’d been a position coach for the Los Angeles Rams, helping them win a Super Bowl in 2021. That inevitably led to bigger opportunities elsewhere. Unfortunately, things went south in a hurry with Carolina as their team bottomed out at 2-15. The offense struggled. As a result, Brown was fired along with the rest of the staff. Even so, the Bears liked his pedigree and felt he could help them.
A few months later, Brown took over as offensive coordinator after Shane Waldron was fired. It was an exact duplicate of what happened last year in Carolina, with him taking over play-calling midseason. The first time didn’t go too well. Thankfully, Brown seems to have learned from his mistakes. Chicago has almost 800 yards of total offense the past two weeks, with quarterback Caleb Williams posting a 99.9 passer rating. Some have begun calling for Brown to get a look at head coach.
Former quarterback Dan Orlovsky warned the Bears. Either they work to keep Brown in Chicago, or he’ll find success elsewhere. It’s clear they’ve stumbled onto a hidden gem.
Thomas Brown already has the attention of the locker room.
Several players, including Williams, have praised him at every opportunity. They’ve noted his “aura” of confidence and steady leadership. His ability to motivate guys is already becoming obvious. How he’s managed to reorganize the offense from the mess it was over the previous month is extraordinary. His entire vibe has drawn comparisons to guys like Mike Tomlin: tough, no-nonsense, disciplined, and detailed.
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The Bears haven’t promoted an assistant to head coach since 1972, when Abe Gibron got the job. After that proved to be a low point in franchise history, they’ve looked outside for help ever since. Could Thomas Brown be the one to break the drought? The Bears haven’t made any decisions yet, but it’s clear he has the attention of everybody inside Halas Hall.
Well you either make Brown your new HC or you keep him as your OC for next year. The problem is if you bring a new HC in the building, is he OK with Brown keeping the role? And how about the play calling duties? I think you have to fire Eberflus right now to see what you have in Brown.
After watching the Bears offense play in three Thomas Brown games, it seems obvious the the main reason the Chicago Bears offense was so bad was the awful offensive coordination.
Take the same players, replace one coordinator, score points. Obvious.
@Arnie I completely agree with you and everyone else about Thomas Brown’s qualities. However one aspect of him which needs to happen if he can be kept (as head coach), is whether he applies the same motivation, attention to detail and accountability to his coaches, as his players. The second is whether he can recognize whether position coaches or coordinators are doing their jobs. If he can hire an offensive coordinator (either experienced or not) to both develop all new talent, and be smart enough to scheme to the level of development, he will be able to oversee all three… Read more »
@34sweetness343434 I wouldn’t worry too much about Brown’s limited experience. Realistically, all of the hot coordinators that most people say will he considered have zero head coaching experience, so how they will do as a HC is a total crapshoot anyway. Even Ben Johnson, he’s done great as an OC, but no one can say how he’ll be a a HC. He could turn out to be Adam Case or he could turn out to be Bill Walsh, since both became headcoaches based on successful runs as OC’s. I also look at two of the longest tenured (and personal favorites)… Read more »
@Dr. Melhus you make some very good points. My only worry is giving the job to a guy who has gone from relative obscurity to the HC in such a short period of time. Is a huge risk. If we had a 6 game sample that would at least be something to go on. It is looking like there will be a lot of great head coaching candidates out there this hiring cycle, and to pass them over for someone so unproven worries me a little. I’d just feel a little better if brown had a successful run with the… Read more »