As Thomas Brown prepares for the first in what will be a five-game stretch to close out the season, he has a chance to audition for the Chicago Bears and every other team that will have an opening in January and beyond.
Brown, 38, is a young guy who has been mentioned as a future head coach for a little while and has received a strong endorsement from Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay, among others.
He has a difficult task in front of him — beginning with Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium — and comes across as sincere when he says he’s not considering what the opportunity means in the big picture.
“I don’t think about that at all,” Brown said. “I just think about just a moment. Understand the role that I’m in, understand what might come with it. Also understand that we make most situations bigger than what it has to be because of the outside noise, what everybody else puts a value on it. I have a job to do. I’m excited about my job and committed to it every single day.”
A handful of coaches have taken interim gigs and turned them into success. Former Bears safety Jeff Fisher took over for Jack Pardee with the Houston Oilers in 1994. They went 1-5 under Fisher to finish 2-14 but Fisher was given the job, one he held for 16 seasons.
Marv Levy went 2-7 in the final nine games in 1986 in Buffalo, and the Bills made the shrewd decision to stick with him. It paid off and he guided the franchise to four consecutive Super Bowls. In Dallas, Jason Garrett took over for Wade Phillips during the 2010 season, closing the year with a 5-3 record to earn the permanent job. Garrett was 85-67 and reached the playoffs three times. His .559 winning percentage is very close to the .563 (81-63) Lovie Smith posted as Bears coach.
Bruce Arians was named coach of the year in 2012 when he was the interim in charge of the Indianapolis Colts, but that was under different circumstances. He was filling in for Chuck Pagano, who was sidelined while undergoing treatment for leukemia. No one had been fired.
In reality, most interim coaches are doing everything in their power to keep things from going off the rails, and they’re usually cycled out after the season. What the players need to realize is in the choppy seas the Bears find themselves in — at 4-8 and having lost six in a row, they’re in a similar boat of needing to prove themselves.
Caleb Williams is going to be around in 2025 as the starting quarterback, and handful of players — based on their abilities and contracts — are assured of being central figures when the organization launches into a new era. Wide receivers DJ Moore and Rome Odunze, tight end Cole Kmet, cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon and defensive end Montez Sweat highlight a few who project to be part of the nucleus.
Credit Williams with finding a silver lining in the upheaval since offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was fired and coach Matt Eberflus was next to go.
“I think this is a steppingstone of development to be able to have all of this in my first year,” Williams said. “I wouldn’t say that I’m happy for it. Having these moments is definitely something that will help me in the future. Having these situational moments that it’s hard to rep in practice, having some of these moments, having your coach fired or coaches fired and people being promoted.
“You know, things like that all happening within a couple weeks of each other, I think it would help me in the long run being able to handle all of this, being able to handle this first year and being able to grow from it.”
Transitioning to a new playbook in April ought to be a cinch compared with staff changes on the fly in a season gone awry, including four excruciatingly frustrating late-game meltdowns.
But a coaching change — even if Brown bucks the odds and manages to earn the job permanently — is going to bring more roster churn as a new staff studies the roster. Former Bears coach John Fox wasn’t much of a quote but he didn’t shy from using real talk with players. I’m reminded of the story former Carolina defensive tackle Brentson Buckner shared regarding Fox’s initial meeting with Panthers players when he was hired in 2002.
“You were 1-15 and they got rid of all the coaches,” Fox said, according to Buckner. “None of those coaches played. None of those coaches dressed on Sunday. A lot of reasons you were 1-15 are sitting in this room, and it’s my job to weed you out.”
The message is unlikely to be quite that blunt after the Bears turn things over. But the point is worth making: Change is a comin’. They are a 4-8 team that has underachieved because of coaching and playing alike, and the remaining five games offer players a chance to boost their resumes in the one way that matters most — with what they put on tape.
A new staff is going to identify a vision for the team — it’s hard to say what exactly the Bears’ vision was the past 2½ seasons — and with that will begin the process of determining which players fit.
“There’s always a lot of proving to be had,” Kmet said. “You can’t wish by these games. I think everyone’s got things at stake here whether you’re on a one-year deal, whether you’re fighting to keep your contract for the following years, whether you’re trying to make a name for yourself in free agency.
“There’s a lot that people have got to play for, coaching-wise. Coaches in new role that they want to excel and exceed in. There’s definitely a lot to play for in that regard. I think that kind of is why the NFL is what it is.”
Said linebacker T.J. Edwards: “We’re being evaluated just like coaches are being evaluated. With our record at this point, I don’t know if anything has gone well, to be honest with you, but got to find a way to finish this off right.”
Because eventually a new coach will be standing in front of the room, and he’s going to let those in the seats know they had a hand in the season unraveling as well.
Scouting report
Brock Purdy, 49ers quarterback
Brock Purdy, 6-foot-1, 220 pounds, is in his third season with the 49ers, who drafted him in the seventh round in 2022 out of Iowa State. Purdy is 22-10 as a starter since taking over for Jimmy Garoppolo during his rookie season.
Purdy had a banner season a year ago when he passed for 4,280 yards with 31 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, completing 69.4% of his passes. His numbers are down across the board this season. He’s been dealing with an injured right arm and has 2,707 yards with 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions for a team that has been devastated by injuries.
“His footwork is all over the place this season and his mechanics have been poor,” the scout said. “He’s not throwing on time. He’s playing off-schedule, too, often by choice. Kyle Shanahan a couple times this season has said, ‘Well, we left throws on the field.’ That’s not good. Purdy is undersized and he’s got a small arm. So, if he doesn’t throw on time, it doesn’t work. He doesn’t have the leeway that a Justin Herbert or Josh Allen has to be late and still make the play. He’s not playing real well, and I don’t know what the 49ers are going to do. Are they going to pay this guy?
“He’s small and he doesn’t have the physical tools you are hoping for, and I don’t know if you want to pay a guy like that. He’s a timing and rhythm thrower and he did that really well last season. He’s got to play like Tua Tagovailoa plays in Miami and he’s got way better movement traits than Tua and he’s got toughness. When he’s not on time, that’s when his lack of physical tools is exposed. He doesn’t have the big-time arm and he can’t hammer the ball consistently inside the numbers 15 to 20 yards down the field. He needs to see stuff. Shanahan does an excellent job of scheming throws and creating second- and third-level windows to throw the football. Now, he’s got to see it and anticipate it. He’s been late on those throws this season.
“He was really detailed with those mechanics last season too so we’ve seen him do it. That offense isn’t firing on all cylinders now because it’s a 100% timing and rhythm scheme. It has to be on time. He’s dealt with the injury. We all know that. I haven’t seen a Shanahan offense look like this in a while. They lost their best route runner in Brandon Aiyuk. Deebo Samuel is not a high-level route runner and he looks a step slower this year. The left tackle Trent Williams has been out and he hasn’t had Christian McCaffrey as a target in the pass game. McCaffrey is almost automatic underneath and someone who can boost his numbers on swings and screens where he makes the play for the quarterback. It’s been rough this season.”
Information for this report was obtained from NFL scouts
