Thomas Brown is in his first season with the Bears, elevating to the role of interim head coach after serving as offensive coordinator and offensive passing game coordinator to start the season. Brown comes to Chicago with four seasons of NFL coaching experience and nine at the collegiate level. Brown most recently served as the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers (2023). Prior to his time in Carolina, Brown was with the Los Angeles Rams for three seasons in various roles, including the final two as assistant head coach.
Winning Super Bowl LVI with the Rams (2021), Brown was part of an offense that ranked tied for seventh in the NFL in points scored and points per game (460/27.1) and ninth in total yards and yards per game (6325/372.1). Los Angeles was one of six teams with two running backs to rush for over 680 yards with Sony Michel totaling 845 rush yards and Darrell Henderson adding 688 yards. The previous season, he oversaw a rushing attack that finished 10th in the league, averaging 126.1 rushing yards per game. The running back room was led by rookie Cam Akers who produced a team-best 625 yards.
Prior to his joining the Rams, Brown served as the running backs coach at the University of South Carolina (2019), where he oversaw a balanced rushing attack, which included two running backs with over 500 yards on the year.
Brown spent three seasons as the Miami Hurricanes' offensive coordinator and running backs coach (2016-18). The Canes rushed for 2,489 yards, an average of 5.2 yards per carry while scoring 25 rushing touchdowns (2018). Running back Travis Homer earned second-team All-ACC recognition despite taking over as the starting running back five games into the season (2017) and the previous year (2016), All-ACC back Mark Walton become the 11th running back in program history to rush for over 1,000 yards.
Brown returned to his alma mater, the University of Georgia (2015), where he coached a running backs group that featured future pros Sony Michel and Nick Chubb as the duo surpassed 1,900 combined rushing yards.
Prior to his stint at Georgia, Brown spent the 2014 season at the University of Wisconsin, coaching Heisman Trophy runner-up Melvin Gordon. Under Brown's leadership, Gordon posted the second-best season by a running back with 2,587 rushing yards and 32 total touchdowns. Gordon combined with fellow running back Corey Clement, also a future pro, to run for 3,536 yards on the year, breaking the single-season FBS record for rushing yards by teammates. Wisconsin's 6.91 yards per rushing attempt average in the 2014 season was the fourth-best mark in FBS history.
Before Wisconsin, Brown was a running backs coach at Marshall (2013) and the University of Tennessee Chattanooga (2012). He started his coaching career as an assistant strength & conditioning coach at Georgia (2011). As a pro, Brown was selected in the sixth round (No. 172 overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons and spent the 2009 season with the Cleveland Browns before retiring to pursue coaching opportunities.
Brown played collegiately at Georgia, helping the Bulldogs to the 2005 SEC championship. He finished his career as the fifth-leading rusher in Georgia history with 2,646 career yards and led the team in rushing (2005-06). He totaled 26 touchdowns in his collegiate career, scoring rushing, receiving and on kickoff return.
A Tucker, Ga. native, Brown attended Tucker High School. He earned his bachelor's degree in speech communications from Georgia. He and his wife, Jessica, have three children: Orlando, Tyson and Judah.
