The Carolina Panthers announced that they are hiring Thomas Brown to be their new offensive coordinator on Frank Reich’s staff. Brown was the assistant head coach and tight ends coach of the Los Angeles Rams last season after previously working with the team’s running backs.
This is a big loss for the Rams as Brown has been an essential part of Sean McVay’s staff the last few years and is viewed as one of the leagues best young and up-and-coming coaches.
Brown has gotten some head coaching interviews over the last couple years and may be on his way to being a head guy, most notably interviewing for the Houston Texans job this offseason.
It’s logical to think that Brown needed some experience as an offensive coordinator before becoming a head coach though. The Rams decided to go a different direction, however, bringing in Mike LaFleur after Liam Coen left the organization to return to the University of Kentucky.
After Brown got passed over for the L.A. job, he interviewed for both the Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator openings before being hired by the former.
This is a great opportunity for Brown, who will be calling plays at the NFL level for the first time. The Panthers will need to figure out their quarterback situation though, whether that be drafting someone in the first round or bringing in a veteran with experience.
Meanwhile, the Rams will now have another coach to replace on McVay’s staff this offseason. If Brown had stayed the expectation was that he would go back to working with running backs after the team hired Nick Caley to be their tight ends coach. That means that McVay needs to find a new running backs coach in addition to the other positions of his staff that have yet to be filled such as special teams coordinator.
More must-reads: