Thomas Brown was elevated to Bears interim head coach just over a week ago and will be at the helm for the first time this Sunday when the team travels to San Francisco. Learn more about Brown as he talks with ChicagoBears.com about his sports idols, favorite coaching memory, travel destination and more.
This year is your first time working in Chicago. What's been your impression of the city?
I mean, the food is awesome. I had a chance in the offseason to go down and visit a lot. Phenomenal hotels. I don't want to just name one, but I stayed at a few hotels that were luxurious. We had a good time with the family and ate really well.
What's been your favorite restaurant in the city?
I'm a big steakhouse person. So, I went to Maple and Ash — it was actually my wife's birthday. They have a pretty unique tradition. I'm sure the people that have been there before know what that is. I can't repeat it out loud, but we had a good time.
You have coached in nine different places. What's the best and hardest part about the moves?
I think the best part is being able to be in different environments, experience different cultures, be around different people. The hard part is, it's not just me moving. It's my wife and three boys, so having to make adjustments with them is always difficult.
Who are your role models?
Obviously, my mother and my father are very important. I am a male, so my father. There is no man on this earth that has more importance to me and my development than him. So, I'm not gonna disrespect him by naming anyone else other than him.
You've talked a lot about your wife and three kids. What was their reaction to your new role?
Well, like you mentioned, I've moved nine times. So me and my family are used to change. This is obviously different with two changes really fast, but definitely excitement. They're proud of me and obviously have support for me.
How would you describe your leadership style?
Direct, open, honest. I try to do a really good job of pulling from my past experiences, but also it's about the connection to these players to show them that I care about them as people first, not just as football players.
Players typically have pregame rituals or superstitions. Do you have any pregame rituals as a coach?
Normally, I just get outside, put my headphones in. What I do first is FaceTime my wife. We'll talk, and then I'll just walk probably 10 to 12 laps around the field just get my mind right.
Sports idols growing up?
Barry Sanders introduced me to football. That's my favorite player of all time. I was a big Barry fan. I'm from Atlanta, so I was a big fan of Mike Vick. Watching him growing up, he was just a generational talent.
Favorite football memory – as a player and a coach?
Coach is easy — Super Bowl, winning that (with the Rams) in 2021. That's hopefully not a once-in-a-lifetime deal. But the build up to that year, the moment – my family had a chance to come on the grass, so that was cool. As a player, probably too many to name. I think the first time is always the most important. So as a freshman, first time running on the grass at Georgia and the crowd going wild, it was a sold out arena — that was pretty cool.
"Welcome to the NFL" moment?
As a player, I only had two injury-plagued years. So, I won't go rehash that past. I might get mad all over again. But as a coach, coming into the LA Rams organization, obviously a big jump from where I was in college. So just the volume of ball because in college, there's academics, recruiting. There's so many things outside of this football. In the NFL, it's all ball all day.
You played running back through college and in the NFL, who is on your running back Mount Rushmore?
Barry is at the top, so I think he's just in a league of his own. It's tough – there's so many. I was a huge AP (Adrian Peterson) fan. Walter Payton — one of the greatest. LaDainian Tomlinson, I was a huge fan of and, I won't say modeled my game after him because I couldn't play like that at all, but I definitely had a lot of love for him. Those are probably the top ones that I watched the most just because I liked the style of ball they play.
You wore No. 20 in college - does that number have significance?
Barry Sanders.
Who is the most difficult player you've played against?
So there's a cat named Odell Thurman, which many people may not know who Odell Thurman was, but he was at Georgia when I was there. Ended up being a second round draft pick to the Bengals. He's definitely one that sticks out in my mind. (Former Panthers linebacker) Thomas Davis was also at Georgia at the same time. Those two cats were really violent football players, so they definitely helped me toughen up and grow up. I'm not gonna give too much credit to opponents, but those are two teammates of mine that I had a ton of respect for.
What's on your bucket list?
I'm not really a bucket list person. I love to travel, though, so, every time we're off, I'm hopping on the plane going somewhere fun. I plan on going to Tokyo next summer. It'll be my first time going there.
What's been your favorite place you've traveled to?
Turks and Caicos. There's a place called Beach Enclave I've been to three or four times, so I'll be there again in a few months.
Who would play you in a movie?
Oh, man. I mean, Denzel's the greatest of all time, so I'll stick with Denzel. What's Denzel, 69 now? No doubt, I'll still take Denzel.
Do you have any hidden talents?
No, not at all. I wish I did. That's a good question. Kind of embarrassing, I guess I don't have any talents at all. If I could sing, it'd be dangerous, though, because I would walk around singing all day. I would never shut up.
