Promoting head coaches from within used to be a regular thing for the Chicago Bears. Between 1942 and 1972, they promoted an assistant to the head job four times. Two of them even got the Bears to a championship game. However, the dual failures of Jim Dooley and Abe Gibron set the team on a path to never doing it again. In the 50 years since Gibron was fired, the Bears have always found their next head coach from outside the organization. There have been one or two instances where it almost happened. Buddy Ryan nearly got the job in 1982. Some made a case for promoting Adam Gase after 2015 to avoid losing him. Now, the situation with Thomas Brown has arrived.
His ascent is easily the most unexpected. Midway through the season, he took over for Shane Waldron as offensive coordinator, tasked with reviving an offense that seemed dead. They’re now averaging over 20 points per game, and Caleb Williams looks like a budding star. Many fans and media wonder if the team should give him a serious look as a replacement for Matt Eberflus. According to Courtney Cronin of ESPN, plenty of players in the locker room wouldn’t oppose the idea.
For the longest time, Eberflus managed to keep his job safe because the defense was the clear reason the Bears were staying in games. That has drastically shifted in recent weeks. Now, the offense has to shoulder more of the load as the defense falters. They allowed 30 points for the first time in over a year against Minnesota. Yet Thomas Brown and the offense almost bailed them out by forcing overtime. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get one more stop when they needed it. With the team losing five straight going into Thanksgiving, Eberflus looks like he’s on borrowed time. If Brown can maintain his current momentum, the possibility is growing that the Bears may break with tradition to give him a shot.
