Former Wisconsin running back coach Thomas Brown was named interim coach of the Chicago Bears on Saturday.
The move follows the Bears firing of coach Matt Eberflus.
Brown, who had been serving as Chicago’s offensive coordinator since the team relieved Shane Waldron of his duties on Nov. 12, now inherits the most important responsibility on the team’s sidelines.
The decision to let go of Eberflus was nowhere near difficult for the Bears. The former Indianapolis Colts’ defensive coordinator went 4-8 with Chicago this season, including six straight losses.
The latest defeat — a 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving — prompted fans and leadership alike to scratch their heads. Eberflus failed to call a timeout in the final 30 seconds of Chicago’s last drive, a sequence that ultimately resulted in an incomplete pass to end the game.
Thomas Brown takes over as the interim coach. https://t.co/OER4FhOKee
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 29, 2024
Brown will take over a Bears team that entered the season with lofty expectations. After drafting former USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick of the 2024 NFL draft, it appears the team has a franchise quarterback.
That, coupled with wide receivers DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze, was enough to convince the fan base that Chicago could wind up as a wild-card playoff team.
The opposite occurred. Chicago is fourth in the NFC North with an uphill battle ahead.
Brown’s connection to Wisconsin goes back to 2014. Under former Badgers coach Gary Anderson, Brown captained a running back room featuring 2014 Heisman Trophy runner-up Melvin Gordon and future NFL running back Corey Clement.
Following his tenure at UW, Brown spent time as the running backs coach at Georgia (2015), Miami (Florida) (2016-18) and South Carolina (2019) before making the jump to the NFL level. There, he served Los Angeles Rams’ running backs coach in 2020 and assistant head coach from 2021-22 before being hired as the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers in 2023.
Brown assumed duties as the Bears’ passing game coordinator in 2024. Over the past month, he has been promoted twice.
The Bears are next on the field on Dec. 8 against the San Francisco 49ers.