Brown on facing 49ers, Homer potentially starting at RB |
CHICAGO - This coming Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers (3:25 p.m. / FOX) will mark the first game as a head coach for Thomas Brown.
Brown served as the offensive coordinator for the last three games and will continue to balance his offensive play-calling duties with his new responsibilities as head coach. “I think being able to still man the role that I had before. I will communicate in between drives on the headset. I think it helps out because I’m going to be on the grass. So, guys can just come up to me and talk to me versus having a flip over to a different channel,” Brown said. “Obviously, having (interim offensive coordinator) Chris (Beatty) on the grass as well (will) be helpful when it comes to delivering information to the rest of the staff along with the defense.” Brown will be going against a seasoned and successful head coach in Kyle Shanahan, who has led his team to the Super Bowl in 2019 and 2023. Shanahan has strategically built his roster with elite talent, from defensive end Nick Bosa to running back Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver Deebo Samuel. However, the 49ers have been ravaged with injuries with McCaffrey on injured reserve (IR). He is one of 12 players San Francisco has on IR. In addition, linebacker Dre Greenlaw who was designated to return is out while Bosa is doubtful for Sunday’s game. Despite all the injuries, Brown expects Shanahan’s unit to approach the game with its typical aggressive and physical approach. “I think the mentality overall is to be aggressive, to be attacking, to be physical and they’ve stacked the roster that way. I think Kyle’s done a great job throughout the years as far as having that same mentality, picking and choosing the spots to be aggressive. But, they obviously want to run the ball and be effective on offense. They want to knock the run out and make you one-dimensional on defense and also very aggressive on (special) teams as well. So, I think us being able to match that but also keep guys balanced offensively, minimizing guys like (Nick) Bosa,” Brown said. “I also know (linebacker) Fred Warner is a problem in more ways than one, just the way he communicates, trying to find ways to give him different looks because if you give him the same presentation, he will diagnose it. He will communicate. He will meet you wherever the ball is. So, trying to figure out how to make some adjustments with that and then from a defensive perspective, it’s about trying to knock the run out. Obviously, these guys pride themselves on probably 30 plus runs a game. So, I want to be (balanced both) from a defensive perspective and also on special teams, maximizing field position as well.” Both teams have running back issues in this game. McCaffrey, Jordan Mason, and Elijah Mitchell are all out for San Francisco, while the Bears will be without Roschon Johnson with a concussion. D’Andre Swift is questionable with a quad injury. He was unable to practice on Wednesday and Thursday but was able to participate in a limited fashion on Friday. Travis Homer is expected to take on more of a role, and Brown is comfortable with Homer being Chicago’s starting running back on Sunday if necessary. “He’s always been dependable. It’s kind of been early on before he had a couple injuries himself. Really involved in third down, also in (the) two minute (drill). But, taking on a bigger role this week as far as being more involved,” Brown said. “Travis is capable of doing everything for us offensively. I think anytime you talk about that position running back-wise … that position is so volatile, at some point you (are) going to need all of them to go play and at some point, even your third and fourth guys are probably going to start a couple games for you. So, I have full faith and confidence (in him and) the entire room in general.”
