Thomas Brown impresses, takes accountability in first presser as Bears HC

As much as Thomas Brown seemed to improve the offense in his few weeks as the interim offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears, he already seems to be offering more as a leader in a bigger role.

Chicago's interim head coach addressed the media for the first time since Matt Eberflus was fired and was impressive in his session.

Brown announced that wide receivers coach Chris Beatty has been elevated to offensive coordinator, although Brown will continue to call plays. The rest of the staff will stay the same, but it's "all hands on deck," per the coach.

“It is not a one-man show. It is not about me," Brown said. "I am in a leadership position. The goal of a leader is to make people in situations better.”

Here are some other takeaways from Brown's first presser as interim head coach.

Accountability

This seemed to always be an issue under Eberflus but Brown took accountability for his role in the team's shortcomings right away.

“I know there’s a lot of scrutiny, talk dialogue about what has happened at the end of some of these games. I am not exempt from responsibility in those actions," he said. "We’re a team and I believe in doing things together so we get rewarded together and we also get criticized together.”

He later noted that the team needs to have better execution late in games but said it starts long before those moments.

"Don’t neglect the fact that we had several opportunities throughout the entire game," he said referring to the loss in Detroit last week.

That's also important throughout the week leading up to the games.

“I would say, like anything else we do, preparation is the key to success,” Brown said when asked about what needs to improve.

Now it'll be up him and the rest of the coaching staff to not only remain accountable but hold players accountable to help this team progress.

Priorities

Brown mentioned a few focuses for the final five weeks of the season. The first is unity.

“Before we talk about X’s and O’s, before we talk about the game-plan for San Fran, I talked about making sure our house is right to begin with," Brown said of his first team meeting on Monday. "So the initial goal is to unify this football team.”

Part of that is also keeping things in-house and having better internal communication.

“I kinda made the association this morning, being in my house, I have some phenomenal neighbors around me but they have no idea what happens in my house because it’s not their house," Brown said, apparently referring to some comments players have made to the media this season. He noted he'll make sure players know they can always talk to him — “I will not just do what they ask me to do, that’s not how it works" — but said better communication within the family is important.

From there, the coach mentioned "attacking together," being more disciplined and executing, saying that applies both to players and coaches, who also have to do more to make sure players are doing things the right way.

Physicality is another focus.

“Football is a violent game. It rewards those who play it violently so physical with every position is going to be our mentality,” Brown said, adding, “that’s a non-negotiable.”

Brown said the team needs to be resilient and push through to the finish line.

“No matter what happens, nobody cares what’s happened before or what happens in the future," he said. "Overcome it, fight through it. It’s not about the event, it’s about the response, so respond the right way, together, collectively and go attack.”

Finally, Brown said he wants everyone — players and coaches — to constantly display three abilities: "Coachability, accountability and dependability."

“We all have to make adjustments. Life is ever-changing, it’s not an excuse," he said. "Don’t make excuses.”

Brown said he simply wants everyone to do things the right way, be focused on one play at a time and be consistent, although that's easier said than done.

Head coaching job

Brown will get a five-week audition to show why he should lead the team beyond this season. The above parts were a good start, although he says he's focused on the work, not the vacancy.

“As far as the future goes and that process, that’s out of my control so I do my best to avoid worrying about stuff I can’t control because it’s a waste of my time,” Brown said. However, in regards to Ryan Poles and Kevin Warren wanting a decisive decision-maker, Brown said he was “raised by decisive decision-makers" and surrounds himself with those types of people.

He also gave Eberflus a brief shout-out for helping him.

“We live in a results-driven business … but I do wanna say how much I appreciate him for, one, giving me an opportunity interview to begin with, pursuing me throughout the process … for elevating me to the OC position and also I had a chance to visit with him on Friday before he left the building so I appreciate the advice that he gave me.”

The Bears will get their first test under Brown this weekend when they travel to play the San Francisco 49ers.