The Chicago Bears are venturing into the unknown now. Shane Waldron has been fired. His inability to fix the offense after three weeks of not scoring finally did him in. Players weren’t happy, and fans were irate. Head coach Matt Eberflus had to do something. His own seat was heating up at a frantic pace. So Waldron was out. In his place, the Bears promoted passing game coordinator Thomas Brown to the position. It marks the second time he’s been asked to become the play-caller in the middle of the season, doing so last year in 2023.
That experiment didn’t go too well. Carolina’s offense was practically dead during the final month of the season. Then again, head coach Frank Reich didn’t do any better. The Panthers were stuck with a rookie quarterback, a bad offensive line, and no credible wide receivers. One would think those struggles negatively affected Brown’s reputation among NFL players.
Nope.
Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network revealed that the NFLPA surveyed players to determine the best offensive coordinators in the league. Brown came in second, behind only Miami Dolphins coordinator Frank Smith. That should tell you the type of coach and leader he is.
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Thomas Brown is the polar opposite of Waldron.
The former coordinator’s personality was often criticized. He was known for being passive and lacking any sort of commanding voice in the locker room. That made it difficult for him to drill the importance of details and execution into the offense, leading to constant mistakes and miscommunications. Players openly complained about it before and after he left. Well, that won’t be an issue with Brown. Based on multiple sources, the young coach has no qualms about being direct with guys and is lauded for his attention to detail.
Buzz has been building for the past few years about Thomas Brown being a future head coach. When you watch him speak, it is easy to see why. He has a calm, composed demeanor but also a firm voice. His intentions are clear, as are his goals. In his presser, he told the Bears offense that there won’t be any quick fixes. Attitude, hard work, and effort will be needed to turn this thing around. The task ahead is a Herculean one. Morale is low. The schedule is getting tougher.
It might be too late for Brown to stop the ship from sinking. However, he is more than ready to try anyway.
@Arnie I actually agree with the majority of your comments however….
The GM is on his 2nd coaching staff, he’s ultimately responsible for the coaching he put into place.
My hope is that Kevin Warren does a non biased evaluation of the GM and render a decision that’s in the best interest of the team and the city of Chicago.
Our team is worse than last year, the GM can’t be ignored considering the context and state of our beloved team.
@Skee The reason why far less blame is being placed on Poles is because while the offensive line has not played well consistently, they don’t have any less talent or draft capital invested in it than the majority of NFL teams. As I pointed out on another article, using Green Bay as an example, because they are the enemy we struggle with the most (and our next opponent), they have a young 7th rounder starting at left tackle, two young 2nd rounders starting at left guard and center. And I believe a 3rd rounder at right guard and a 4th… Read more »
It all starts with a win or even a close game loss with the Packers.
Hmmm. Well, no one was complaining about the OL when the Bears put up 30+ against the Panthers and Jaguars, or in the win over the Rams. Sure, they weren’t in the top 5 (or 15) in the league then, but they got the job done well enough to dominate two cellar dweller teams. Then take away both starting tackles, and they can’t deal with NE, who went into that game 31st in sacks if I remember correctly. After adding nine, I’m sure they are ranked higher than that now. Frankly, while I’m not saying the OL is great, there’s… Read more »
Of course it’s no secret this O-Line is one of the worst in the league so it’d be impossible to have offensive success.
With that said, no blame or responsibility is being placed on the G. M., while this dumpster fire burns he gets to sit in his nice cushy office watching his terrible coach receive all the blame, disgusting….!