As Chicago Bears president Kevin Warren and general manager Ryan Poles addressed the media on Monday, an NFC executive watched remotely with a slew of questions.
Why was this press conference delayed until three days after the Bears had fired head coach Matt Eberflus, the first in-season firing of a head coach in franchise history?
Why did the Bears not fire Eberflus after the Washington Commanders duped the Bears on a Hail Mary, and why did the franchise dismember the leadership group guiding first overall draft pick Caleb Williams' rookie season, piece by piece?
Why, now, are the Bears reassigning the offensive coordinator spearheading Williams’ recent improvement?
Only three games have elapsed since Chicago fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. Now the Bears have promoted Thomas Brown from passing game coordinator to offensive coordinator to interim head coach in less than a month.
The shuffling leaves Williams game-planning with his third offensive coordinator (albeit second play-caller) in just 13 professional games.
This was avoidable.
“In retrospect, if they were considering this, they should have promoted Thomas to head coach, kept Shane and had Thomas work with Shane to simplify [the] offense,” the NFC executive texted. “Do that weeks ago, post-Hail Mary debacle. Thomas, in his best element, has influence on offense but gets to focus on being head coach.”
The suggestion isn't a knock on Brown's performance as coordinator. After elevating Brown to play-caller, the Bears rose from 24th in offensive EPA to ninth the past three weeks, per TruMedia. The Bears' offense jumped from 30th to 13th in total yards and from 31st to sixth in third-down conversions. Williams' passer rating jumped from 79.3 under Waldron to 118.2 with Brown.
But in a season when the Bears’ No. 1 priority should be supporting and developing their franchise quarterback, the decision to shuffle Williams’ direct line of contact again raised eyebrows from multiple sources across the league.
Are the Bears risking Williams’ long-term development, and their franchise’s future in turn? Brown was in a position that did not communicate directly with Williams a month ago. Now, he’s the top line of communication for Williams — and all players and coaches.
Williams said he views the movement as an opportunity.
“I wouldn’t say that it will affect my development,” Williams said. “I think this is a stepping stone of development, to be able to have all of this in my first year. I wouldn’t say I'm happy for it. But having these moments is definitely something that will help me in the future.
“It’s not easy to keep going and roll with the punches and keep fighting. But you have to do it.”
The Bears will hope to fare better than another in-flux NFL team this year.
Jets took similar risk and collapsed. Will Bears?
In October, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson had an idea.
His franchise sat at 2-3, coming off an overseas loss that seemed to embarrass Johnson perhaps more while staged in the country for which he recently served as U.S. ambassador.
The Jets’ big-splash Aaron Rodgers acquisition wasn’t working. Their kicker was missing kicks. And even though they’d lost their last two games by one-score margins, they had still lost both.
So Johnson fired head coach Robert Saleh, who concluded his Jets tenure with a 20-36 (.357) record. The Jets promoted defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich to interim head coach, rewarding the strong-presence leader of the most successful unit on the team.
The problem: This midseason change shook up the defensive play-calling and structure. All of a sudden, the team’s most effective unit had lost the primary focus of its play-caller in Saleh and its day-to-day leader in Ulbrich.
The Jets have since slipped from fifth in defensive EPA across their first five games to 30th after Saleh’s firing. They’ve fallen from second-best scoring defense to 16th, from sixth and eight in red-zone and third-down to 25th and 20th.
A talented group of hard-working players wasn’t able to stave off the adversity of the operational shakeup.
The Bears, promoting to interim head coach the leader of the group who has recently found success with him, are now taking on that same risk.
It’s an uphill battle.
The Bears already have lost six straight and now face five opponents with better records than their own, including four above .500. Williams, teammates and coaches alike have trumpeted improved communication and transparency as key tenets of their recent improvement. But Brown will now have more on his plate competing with that clarity, challenging Williams in a way that wasn't really necessary before.
Sure, Brown has overperformed in each Bears opportunity so far. He presented as the most prepared and capable leader of the three from Bears brass who spoke publicly this week.
But a franchise that this week heralded itself as “the most coveted job in the National Football League this year” needs to take an honest look at the barriers it’s putting in front of its coaching staff and its prime-capital quarterback to succeed.
Brown, who emphasizes that he wants to manage rather than micromanage, downplayed the concern.
“I am not the sole person responsible for Caleb’s development,” Brown said. “He has a big part in that. Obviously, I've been charged with leading the way with him and the team now as well. His response has been awesome. My job is to be an effective communicator, be honest and be direct about what he’s doing well and what he’s not doing well.
“I have the same exact expectations for the team.”
What could come next for Thomas Brown in a new role
League sources were split on what this opportunity could mean for Brown’s career.
One camp believed continuing to right the ship as offensive coordinator would have best buoyed his career, a high-volume task but one Brown has proven capable of managing even without an offseason to prepare. Is the transition from a relatively behind-the-scenes passing game coordinator to offensive coordinator to interim head coach and play-caller realistic to master in a month?
It’s too soon to know how seriously the Bears will consider him for their 2025 longer-term role, so Brown is aiming to keep his focus shorter term.
“I can’t complain about prayers being answered in certain different orders and maybe what some people would say [is] not an unideal scenario,” Brown said. “What I realized about this profession is: If you’re bad at your job, they move on from you. If you’re good at your job, they give you an opportunity to stick around. And if you’re great at your job, you get elevated. So my thought process was always to be the best I can be, not make it about myself and let the chips fall where they may.
“My goal is to make people and situations better.”
The second camp believed the experience in total organizational leadership and game management will give Brown a head start strategizing a longer-term opportunity, in Chicago or elsewhere.
“He has a whole offseason to map out what the f*** his plan is, which [brand new head coaches] don't know,” a source close to a prior interim-turned-head coach said. “They think they know, but they really don't know. And it's gonna hit them Game 1 and then they're gonna be drinking from the faucet all year and they never get a break.
“This dude's got eight months to map it out, knowing what it's like.”
Brown didn’t waste time diving into his connection and management strategy after receiving the promotion Friday, three days before his players would return to the building.
“I did reach out to everyone on the team Friday and Saturday individually,” Brown said, “to tell them my thoughts, how excited I am for our growth together, and how much I need the whole group to respond the right way.”
When the pre-meeting music cut off Monday at the team's facilities, players and coaches were attentive, Brown said. In that first address, Brown preached accountability, coachability and dependability. He reminded players that some thoughts need not be shared outside the building, the same way he doesn’t tell his well-meaning neighbors everything going on inside his house.
Brown announced wide receivers coach Chris Beatty as interim offensive coordinator even as Brown retained play-calling duties. Brown also spoke this week with Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay, whom he worked for from 2020-22, during the week.
When it came time to prepare for the San Francisco 49ers, who are 4-point favorites over the Bears, per BetMGM, Brown reminded players that San Francisco will be physical and they must be, too.
He reminded Williams the importance of mental toughness at quarterback.
“I try to tell him every day that he has an obviously very difficult job as the quarterback position and at times he gets frustrated,” Brown said. “Wednesdays are heavy install days. A lot of verbiage, a lot of alert criteria. So being able to understand how to challenge yourself but also give yourself grace, breathe. And if you mess it up — get back in the huddle and we’ll make it right. Breathe.”
The road to San Francisco and beyond will not always be smooth. But Brown said he’s focused more on getting each coach and player’s personal best than reaching a context-independent, objective measure of success.
“The goal is not perfection,” he said. “The goal is to be excellent.”