Brown on moving forward, allowing Williams to use his natural abilities |
CHICAGO—With the firing of Shane Waldron and the promotion of Thomas Brown, the Chicago Bears have now had three offensive coordinators since the start of the 2023 season.
While Brown is not happy with the circumstances surrounding this opportunity, he does appreciate the chance to be the play-caller for the remainder of the season. “I appreciate (Chairman) George (McCaskey), (President and CEO) Kevin (Warren), (head coach Matt Eberflus) and also (general manager) Ryan (Poles) for giving me the opportunity to lead this offense,” Brown said. “Also, want to thank Shane Waldron, kind of gets lost in this transition of how it affects people (and) their families and their lives. I met Shane back in 2020, first working with the Rams and he was phenomenal to me and my family to help onboard us coming to the NFL. So, just want to say thank you to him.” Brown has previous experience as an offensive coordinator. From 2016 to 2018, he served as the offensive coordinator for the Miami Hurricanes. His first time on an NFL coaching staff was in 2020, when he became the running backs coach of the Los Angeles Rams. In 2021 and 2022, he also served as an assistant head coach; 2022 also marked his first time as a tight ends coach. His first chance as an NFL offensive coordinator was in 2023 when he was the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers. After one year there, he was interviewed to be the offensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears. Although he was not given the job then, as the Bears hired Waldron instead, he decided to come to Chicago as their passing game coordinator. It was his first time serving in that role. Brown is not focused on the past, though, as he wants to look toward the rest of this season. “This is eyes up, moving forward, excited about the opportunity. This will not be a one-man show. I’m excited to work and collaborate with our entire staff and our players to fix the problems that we do have,” Brown said. “Had a great conversation (Tuesday) with (rookie quarterback) Caleb (Williams) about my thoughts moving forward, issues to fix and just had a phenomenal walkthrough. Guys were upbeat, moving around, being really detailed. So, excited about practice.” Changing an offensive coordinator cannot change an offense overnight. However, it could provide a spark to a team that desperately needs one. Brown provides a change in coaching style as he is direct and strives for open and honest communication. “I’m a pretty direct person. That’s what I told him when we spoke (on Tuesday). But, I think on game day when it comes to how you deliver information, to be solution-oriented, to keep myself calm. Also, keep him calm as well, to decompress every single drive. We have to look forward to what’s coming (on) the next drive,” Brown said. “To me, it’s about clear, open and honest communication. I’m not going to dance around certain topics or even individuals when it comes to addressing certain needs, but also (alleviating) pressure off ourselves as coaches to get stuff right. So, it’s going to be a collaborative effort. All eyes and all focus on going forward to get us better.” Already halfway through the season, especially with a rookie quarterback, Brown stated he would not reinvent the offense, as that would be detrimental to the team. However, he stated he would allow Williams to utilize his natural abilities in certain situations, such as third downs and the red zone. “At this point, when it comes to where we are in the season, you can’t reinvent the wheel. I’m not going to try to do that at all. That’ll (send) us in a spiral going backwards in my opinion. But, it’s about being able to try to find the best ways to be effective with our playmakers, to be able to mirror what we do from a formation and motion standpoint. Everything, to me, starts up front, starts with the run game, how we attack, knock it forward mentality. We build off of that,” Brown said. “I think when it comes to just natural ability from throwing the football, I think, (is) clear and obvious. I think being able to understand how to get the ball out of his hands as fast as possible when it comes to the concepts we end up dialing up. But also, being able to let him use his natural (ability at) times when it’s relevant. Not every play, but when it comes to especially situational ball, third down, red zone, come alive with that.” This coming Sunday against the Green Bay Packers (Noon / FOX) will provide fans with the chance to see what Brown’s offense looks like compared to Waldron’s.
