When New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was putting his coaching staff together, he had interviewed Thomas Brown for the offensive coordinator position. Although the job went to Josh McDaniels, Vrabel was so impressed with what Brown brought to the table that he found a spot for him on his staff.
The Patriots hired Brown to be their passing game coordinator and tight ends coach. He’s experienced on the offensive side of the ball, starting his coaching career in the NFL in 2020 with the Los Angeles Rams as a running backs coach and quickly climbed the ladder up to assistant head coach for Sean McVay, contributing to their Super Bowl LVI victory.
In 2023, Brown was the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers. While having success with working with a young quarterback, Brown went to the Chicago Bears the following year as their pass game coordinator. He was quickly promoted to their offensive coordinator after firing Shane Waldron and then as interim head coach after they also fired Matt Eberflus.
It seems like the ultimate goal for Brown is to one day be a head coach. He was the assistant head coach with the Rams and then was the interim just a year later for the Bears. And it’s worth mentioning that over the last four years that Brown interviewed for the head coaching positions of the Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, and the Bears.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Brown could get another head coaching opportunity due to his contributions for the great start that the Patriots are on this season. Pelissero named Brown on his annual list of the next head coaching candidates.
“When he interviewed for the Patriots’ OC job later that month, Mike Vrabel was so impressed, he found a spot for Brown on staff. Brown is no stranger to the interview circuit, having spoken with the Dolphins, Texans, Titans, and Bears about their head coaching jobs over the past four Januarys, respectively. With the Patriots rolling, Brown could get a look again.”
Thomas Brown Deserves Recognition for Contributing to Patriots Success
Brown’s efforts contribute to the Patriots having the eighth-most offensive yards this season (359.9). Working with second-year quarterback Drake Maye, the signal-caller has the most passing yards in the league and the NFL's best completion percentage this season at 3,130 yards on 71.0% completion.
Although most of the recognition for the success of the offense will go to McDaniels, Brown's effort as the passing game coordinator shouldn't go unnoticed, and it's worth noting that the tight ends are Maye's favorite targets this season.
As Pelissero said, Brown could be up for another round of head coaching interviews come January. He would join Matt LaFleur and Arthur Smith as head coaches after previously working on Vrabel’s staff.