Last week, SM reported that the Chicago Bears were considering head coach alternatives as it became apparent Matt Eberflus couldn’t pull the team out of its current nosedive. One of those names is Thomas Brown. The man was a non-entity when he arrived in Chicago, brought on as the passing game coordinator. It was a glorified extra assistant to offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. Nine games later, Waldron was fired. Just like that, Brown got promoted to the job. He started speaking more to the press, and it became clear the young coach had charisma, self-confidence, and a leadership air around him.
Could he be head coach material were he to turn around Caleb Williams?
It appears we’re getting an answer to that question. In their first two weeks together, Brown and Williams have engineered 581 passing yards, 103 rushing yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. They’ve also engineered two 4th quarter comebacks. One resulted in a blocked field goal. The other went to overtime, where the defense failed to get a stop. For Brown to turn the quarterback around this fast against the #10 and #1 defenses in the league? That is a hell of a coaching job.
What else is there to see with Eberflus? He’s 5-18 in one-score games, 14-31 overall, has never beaten the Packers, and seems to have lost his fastball on defense. The guy isn’t changing. Everybody on the planet knows he’s getting fired. If it looks like the Bears have a potential successor on the staff, shouldn’t they give him an opportunity to prove himself? Firing Eberflus now would present Brown with six remaining games. If he can guide this team to some wins down the stretch, it might show a coaching search won’t be needed.
Rumblings have persisted for at least the past two years that Thomas Brown is head coach material. He learned under Sean McVay in Los Angeles and has a personality that would remind many of Mike Tomlin. The 38-year-old is calm, confident, detailed, and demanding of his players. There are no moral victories. If you don’t win, you fail. That is what this organization needs. Chicago hasn’t promoted a coach from within since 1972. With each passing week, there is growing justification to break that streak.
