Matt Eberflus is teetering on the edge. After two gutwrenching last-second losses in the past month, people are questioning his competence as Chicago Bears head coach from every angle. Dropping to 4-6 after starting 4-2 will do that. It doesn’t help that he’s earning a reputation for choking games away and can’t beat good teams. Barring an unexpected turnaround to end the season, the odds of him being fired have hit an all-time high. This, of course, leads to the next question.
Who replaces him?
Eyes are already turning to the 2025 coaching cycle, where names like Ben Johnson, Mike Vrabel, Bill Belichick, and Kliff Kingsbury figure to dominate headlines. SM reported that the Bears have already begun vetting those names and others in the past few weeks. However, one source indicated an undercurrent of intrigue in Halas Hall for someone close at hand.
That is new offensive coordinator Thomas Brown.
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The Chicago Bears have taken notice of Brown’s locker room impact.
Since taking over, players seem to have responded to his energy, intensity, and discipline. This was felt almost immediately on Sunday when the Bears racked up nearly 400 yards of offense and drove down the field to get in position for the winning field goal. Caleb Williams looked much calmer and more confident. Guys in the locker room clearly respond to Brown, validating the whispers around the league that he is a head coach in waiting. Keep in mind he’s worked under several different head coaches since 2011 and was an understudy of Sean McVay in Los Angeles. McVay has already produced three highly successful future head coaches: Matt Lafleur, Kevin O’Connell, and Zac Taylor.
Many see similarities between Brown and Pittsburgh Steelers mainstay Mike Tomlin. Don’t forget Chicago Bears president Kevin Warren worked with Tomlin in Minnesota. Would the team actually consider promoting from within rather than conducting another coaching search?
This is something the organization hasn’t done in 53 years. The last one was Abe Gibron in 1972. He ended up having the worst winning percentage in franchise history. After that, it was strictly outside sources. It sounds like the higher-ups will keep a close eye on Brown over the final seven weeks. He may get an opportunity to break that drought, depending on his performance.
@David I can absolutely see him (based on his mentality and leadership so far) being the next head coach. The thing I tend to disagree with you on is that we can see everything I think we need to by just keeping him at OC for the remainder of the season (unless there is a total player mutiny against Flus that forces a change). I say that because they must fix the offense, and keep Caleb on an upward trajectory, and I think the best way to do that is to let Brown focus all his energy on the offense.… Read more »
Nobody knows if he’s the answer or not, however if you know Flus is out (or any HC coach at any time for that matter) and you think there’s a possible replacement on the current staff, then it’s negligent to not fire that coach right away, and allow your possible replacement a free trial before committing to him. By not doing this, the entire staff gets fired at year’s end and your possible replacement gets away. You have him on the payroll right now and you don’t know unless you try. They have nothing to lose. Why not give, someone… Read more »
If Brown’s offense balls out, he deserves consideration. If Flus continues to make poor coaching decisions, he should be out. Do the experiment, and see what happens, and then act accordingly.
Would y’all be royally pissed off if the Bears hire Johnson, and he is as good of a HC as Flus was, despite being a great OC, and meanwhile Brown goes to the Jets or the Saints and puts up 12 win seasons on the regular? I know I would.
Oh for fuck’s sake…