Bears meeting with Panthers' Thomas Brown for open OC position

The Chicago Bears are seemingly taking a big swing in their search for their next offensive coordinator. 

According to The Athletic's Joseph Person, the Bears will be meeting with Panthers' offensive coordinator Thomas Brown later today in regards to the same role on the Matt Eberflus' coaching staff.

Brown becomes the biggest name on the Bears' known candidates list that has now grown to six different names.

Who is Thomas Brown?

Brown is a former sixth-round pick by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2008 NFL Draft who transitioned into the coaching role after three seasons with the Falcons and the Cleveland Browns as a running back in the NFL. 

Brown began his coaching career at the college level in 2011 as the strength and conditioning coach at the University of Georgia. He then worked as a running backs coach at Chattanooga, Marshall, Wisconsin, and Georgia (again). He got his first opportunity to truly run an offense at the University of Miami where he served as the offensive coordinator and running backs coach from 2016-2018.

In 2020, Brown joined the NFL coaching world with the Los Angeles Rams as the running backs coach on Sean McVay's coaching staff. The next season he was promoted as the assistant head coach along with his current role and helped lead the team to a Super Bowl victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. Brown stayed in that role during the 2022 season before departing to become the Panthers offensive coordinator on Frank Reich's coaching staff in 2023.

2023 Resume

It was a frustrating season for the entire Panthers' organization as a whole in 2023. Under Reich's supposedly all star coaching staff, the Panthers' offense had simply too many voices going around to operate effectively. After a 0-6 start to the season, Brown was handed play-calling duties but that responsibility was then stripped and returned to Reich following the loss to the Bears in Week 10.

Reich was later fired as the Panthers' head coach two weeks later. The Panthers' offense ended up ranking last in total yards per game, points per game, and passing yards per game during the 2023 season.

The Panthers were expected to show improvement this season after drafting quarterback Bryce Young with the first overall pick in the draft, given to them by the Bears. Young, however, finished the season with one of the worst rookie quarterback seasons in recent memory and the Panthers in turn handed a first overall pick back to Chicago.

Nevertheless, Brown's pedigree as an offensive mind as continued to be praised by prominent voices around the league despite the lost season in Carolina. With a new coaching staff on the way for the Panthers, Brown could be better off jumping ship. The only concern for the Bears is that Brown will also be meeting with the Tennessee Titans later this week for their vacant head coach position.