Technically still in the running for the Bears’ head coaching job, Thomas Brown has begun to explore his options. After meeting with the Seahawks about their position, the interim Chicago HC is on the Patriots’ radar.
As Mike Vrabel looks to replace Alex Van Pelt on his first New England staff, he met with Brown about the OC job, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. The meeting occurred Tuesday, before it became known the Seahawks had others in mind — Klint Kubiak, Grant Udinski — for second interviews about their OC vacancy.
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Vrabel joined Brown in meeting about the Bears’ HC job, and the two one-time Chicago candidates spent time discussing recent Bears offensive work. It looks like Brown will be set to join a fourth team in four years. While the Patriots are set to conduct a wide-ranging search (per Vrabel, at least) that will include Josh McDaniels, Brown looks likely to leave Chicago.
Brown spent the 2022 season with the Rams, was both a play-calling and non-play-calling OC with the Panthers in 2023 and held three Bears positions last year. Initially hiring Shane Waldron as their OC, the Bears circled back to Brown as pass-game coordinator. Brown took the Chicago play-calling reins after the team fired Waldron months into his tenure and then replaced Matt Eberflus soon after. While Brown’s HC tenure did not go very well, team brass realized the tough spot he was in and still considered him for the HC role. Given how disappointing the Bears’ 2024 season was and the importance of maximizing Caleb Williams, it should be expected Brown will not be retained.
The Bears dropped from 4-2 to 4-12 this season, though Brown did nab his only win as interim HC via a game-winning field goal over the Packers in Week 18. The presences of Williams and a well-regarded skill-position group did not boost the Bears this season; the team ranked last in total offense and 28th in points scored. This stands to make a move to another play-calling post — which the Patriots’ job will be — potentially difficult for the former Sean McVay assistant.
Brown is the first confirmed interview for this position, even though a third McDaniels stint has been on the New England radar for a bit. Van Pelt confirmed he was fired along with Jerod Mayo after the Pats’ Week 18 win. If someone other than McDaniels lands the New England job, it will be the franchise’s fifth OC in five years.