When Thomas Brown met with the media Monday to discuss his new role as Bears interim head coach, he echoed the same sentiments he shared three weeks ago after his promotion to offensive play caller.
Brown is approaching the job with a selfless attitude, focusing on each moment as it comes and elevating the people around him.
"I'm excited about the opportunity," Brown shared Monday. "I welcome the challenge. It's all hands on deck, and again, it's not about me. It's about this football team. So every decision made is going to be about what's best for this football team moving forward, and I'm going to worry about the future in the future. I'm worrying about right now, today. I said it before a couple of times, I stand by that: I'm going to be where my feet are. And so it's about preparing us for the opportunity this week, for that challenge, and that starts with our execution every single day we walk in this building."
By Monday afternoon, Brown's attention was focused on the Bears' upcoming matchup in San Francisco with the 49ers, but in the morning, he addressed the team for the first time as interim head coach.
Brown clearly outlined his plan of attack for the remaining five regular-season games.
"Before we talked about Xs and Os, before we talked about our game plan for San Fran, I talked about making sure our house is right," Brown said. "The initial goal is to unify this football team. Everybody's on the same accord, moving in the same direction, speaking the same language and attacking with effort. No more divisions. As far as the outside noise, we ignore it. It doesn't matter, whether it's positive or it's negative. What matters is our daily approach, us working together and executing when it's time to go execute."
Brown also discussed with the team the need to be more disciplined, with a focus on correcting penalties on game day, setting a "non-negotiable" identity of being physical at every position and leaning into the three "abilities" — coachability, accountability and dependability.
"That's all of us, myself included," Brown said. "I'm not above coaching. Not above accountability. So we will get that done together. It's about being resilient. No matter what happens, nobody cares what's happened before or what will happen in the future. Overcome it, fight through it. It's not about the event, it's about the response. Respond the right way, together, collectively, and go attack."
Brown also announced that while he will continue to call offensive plays — now from the field versus the press box — receivers coach Chris Beatty has been elevated to the role of interim offensive coordinator. Beatty is in his first year with the Bears but possesses three seasons of NFL coaching experience and 15 seasons of collegiate experience.
On the opposite side of the ball, coordinator Eric Washington will now be the defensive play caller. A longtime NFL assistant, Washington joined the Bears this offseason after spending four years in Buffalo in a variety of defensive coaching roles. Brown added that he has "tremendous trust and faith" in Washington and the defensive staff "to do their jobs with excellence."
While Brown will take on more responsibility in the his new role, he will remain an integral part of Caleb Williams' development. Through the last three weeks with Brown as the play caller, the offense has averaged 363.3 yards per game, which includes an average of 275.7 passing yards per game by the rookie quarterback.
For Brown, the key to continued success in his partnership with Williams is consistency. Brown will still help lead quarterback meetings alongside position coach Kerry Joseph and be heavily involved with Williams' weekly operation on the practice field.
"We all have to make adjustments," Brown said. "Life is ever changing. It's not an excuse. I don't make excuses. So, I think being able to communicate [with Williams] effectively, to be on the same page, to continue to demand that we do things the right way, but also taking it one play at a time, one day at a time."
Through the end of the season, Brown's focus will be leading and uniting not just Williams and the offense, but the entire locker room. It's an opportunity and a challenge he isn't taking lightly.
"I think it's just about the daily approach and being able to echo that message within every unit," Brown said. "Obviously myself manning up the offense, Eric with the defense, HT (special teams coordinator Richard Hightower) from a special teams standpoint so we're all on the same page saying the same message. But also, the best teams are player-led football teams. So when it comes down to it, this always has been, always will be a players league. So getting those guys to understand the importance of the family and the family business, staying in the family business.
"… We're in this thing together. We communicate together. I want those guys to understand they always have a doorway and a pathway to come communicate with me. I will not just do whatever they ask me to do. That's not how it works. But every thought process is about being able to understand how to resolve problems, how to make people and the situation better so we can get a better result."
