Thomas Brown might not end up landing the full-time head coach position with the Chicago Bears. However, his perspective is something this team should take into consideration no matter who ends up as the hire.
As expected, the Bears interviewed their interim head coach for the vacant full-time position. The team announced the completion of the interview via its social media channels:
Thomas Brown went 1-4 as the Bears’ interim head coach. That four-game losing streak to start his coaching career was ugly. The type of sloppy and undisciplined play that reared its head at the end of the Matt Eberflus era didn’t magically disappear upon Brown’s promotion to the top spot. Further complicating his standing as a candidate is that the offense took a step back after he went from calling plays in the booth to doing so on the sidelines. But at least the Bears won the regular-season finale, beating the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in a thriller.
MORE: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Thomas Brown’s First Win
I don’t think that win will carry too much (if any) weight in the search for a new head coach. But there is no denying that it was a far more fun experience to beat the cheesedoodles than it would have been to lose to them in Week 18.
Thomas Brown knows what the Bears need โ but is he the guy to bring it?
Thomas Brown’s first (and perhaps, only) year with the Chicago Bears was a wild one. Stop and think about this journey for a moment. Brown began the year interviewing for the offensive coordinator position (but didn’t get it). He would still land in Chicago as the team’s passing game coordinator. By mid-November, Brown went from pass game coordinator to offensive coordinator after Shane Waldron’s firing. Three games later, Brown was promoted to interim head coach after Matt Eberflus’ dismissal on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Let Thomas Brown’s 2024 arc serve as a reminder that you can reach any of your career goals that you set your heart to if you put your mind to it and happen to be in the right place at the right time.
Even with an unexpected meteoric in-season rise, Brown did not do a ton to build a case for why he should be given the full-time head coach position. He was unlikely to accomplish that in five games. But it is not as if anything happened in those games that made me wish there was a bigger sample to dissect. Nevertheless, Thomas Brown remains an interesting figure in this team’s search for a new head coach. I hope the team’s interview with Brown was enlightening โย both in terms of what went wrong last year but also what could go right if the Bears hit on the right decisions in the offseason to come.
With that in mind, I found this quote from Thomas Brown (via the Chicago Tribune) to be an interesting one as he weighed in on what this organization needs in the future:
โShared accountability, shared responsibility and a collective mentality as far as how you move forward. The more Iโm around โ not just in the NFL but being in college (as a coach) โ the more I think about how many people lacked the courage to face issues. (It) is shocking to me. And an organization and a team is built around alpha personalities or perceived alpha personalities and then we expect things to change without addressing them.โ
I hope the powers that be get it through their skulls that organization building isn’t just about having the right quarterback and coach. Obviously, that helps. But the Bears need a grassroots-level builder. Someone who can lay a sturdy foundation and build outward. Talent matters, to be sure. So do drive and the will to win. But without a foundation of shared accountability and responsibility, the best-laid plans will still go to waste.
In the end, I struggle to see a scenario in which Thomas Brown is the next Bears head coach. And yet, I hope the team comes away having learned something about itself and its blind spots whenever it emerges with a new leader taking charge in 2025.