Upgrade Your Fandom

Join the Ultimate Chicago Bears Community for just $48 in your first year!

Join for $4/mo*

CHGO Digest: Bears welcome 'change', Thomas Brown not getting ahead of himself

December 5, 2024

Aug 26, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles looks on before a game against the Buffalo Bills at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Bartel-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning, friends!

Where is the next head coach of the Bears now?

This will be the fifth search for a new head coach since George McCaskey took over as chairman of the charter franchise in 2011.

In 2013, the Bears hired Marc Trestman from the CFL instead of reigning Coach of the Year Bruce Arians. In 2015, it was John Fox, who was coming off a Super Bowl blowout loss, over Dan Quinn, who coordinated the defense of the team that blew out Fox’s.

The Bears finally got a hot name on the market in 2018, hiring Matt Nagy from the Chiefs. Nagy has since won two Super Bowls! …back as offensive coordinator in Kansas City.

Then in 2022, the idea was to take time, cast a wide net, lure the best candidate possible. That yielded Matt Eberflus, who, last friday, became the first head coach fired by the organization during the season.

They’ve gone outside the box, they’ve gone retread, they’ve gone popular coordinator, they’ve gone … Matt Eberflus. What else is there?

Well, only once before have the Bears promoted from within for their permanent head coaching hire – Abe Gibron (don’t look up his record).

Interestingly, the Bears have never hired a head coach directly from the college game.

Get This Newsletter In Your Inbox!Don’t miss a thing in Chicago sports with the CHGO Digest every Monday and Thursday!

Just drop your email below!

— Patrick Norton

As Bears welcome change, Thomas Brown isn’t getting ahead of himself

USATSI 24784693 1 — Nov 17, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Thomas Brown looks on before the game against the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images

When asked if the firing of Matt Eberflus and the temporary promotion of Thomas Brown was a welcomed change, Teven Jenkins responded, “Yeah, I love Flus. But I feel like the first point you just said, it was very accurate.”

DeMarcus Walker gave a one-word answer when asked if he sensed a change could be made after the clock management debacle on Thanksgiving: “Yeah.”

“We love his energy and his demeanor and attitude he brings for us as a team,” Walker later added on Wednesday when talking about Brown. “Obviously ever since he’s been calling plays, he’s brought a different level to it. And we got his back.”

Caleb Williams told reporters, “I wouldn’t say a new voice was needed. I would say there was change that was needed.”

After a reported outburst from Jaylon Johnson in the locker room toward Eberflus, Johnson told 670 The Score on Monday, “At some point, enough is enough.”

Fair or not to pin the frustration on Eberflus, players seemed relieved on Wednesday following their first practice with Brown at the helm. That bodes well for Chicago on Sunday against San Francisco. However, despite the team’s positive response to Brown’s attitude, the interim head coach is blocking out any thought of his future beyond the next five weeks.

“I don’t think about it [at] all,” said Brown when asked about weighing the impact of a massive career opportunity in the final weeks of the season. “Obviously I understand the world that I’m in [and] understand what might come with it, but also understand that we make most situations bigger than what it has to be because of the outside noise and what everybody else puts a value on it. I have a job to do.”

Brown later added, “What I realized about this profession is if you are bad at your job, they move on from you. If you’re good at your job, they give you an opportunity to stay around. 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.”

It’s a smart outlook for Brown. Right now, he has the support of his players. The only way to lose that support is by losing games. It’s also the only way to play himself out of strong consideration for the permanent role. Produce wins, prove that you are great at your job and worthy of being elevated. He can’t control the hiring process, but he can certainly make it interesting.

🔎 GO DEEPER | Adam Hoge with everything you need to know from Monday’s press conferences and the upcoming search for a new head coach.