Report: Former Wisconsin assistant 'in talks' with NFL team for next coaching role
ESPN's Mike Reiss reported on Sunday that former Wisconsin assistant Thomas Brown remains 'in talks' to potentially join the Patriots coaching staff.
Brown had recently interviewed for the team's offensive coordinator position under new head coach Mike Vrabel. While the team hired Josh McDaniels, it still appears interested in adding Brown to its staff.
Related: Former Wisconsin quarterback 'expected to move on' from Dallas Cowboys coaching staff
'Brown opened last season as the Bears' passing game coordinator, and the Patriots could potentially look towards that type of role for him, in addition to working with a specific position group,' Reiss wrote.
Brown has led coaching headlines over the last few months. The former Wisconsin running backs coach (2014) began the 2024 season as the Bears' passing game coordinator. He was promoted to offensive coordinator on Nov. 12 after Shane Waldron's firing, then soon received another promotion to interim head coach on Nov. 29 after the team dismissed Matt Eberflus.
The Bears went 1-4 to close the season under his watch — that win coming in Week 18 against the Green Bay Packers. The team finished the season 5-12 and in last place in the NFC North.
The longtime assistant coach interviewed for the Bears head coaching vacancy before Ben Johnson's hiring. He then had the mentioned interview for the Patriots' OC job, which went to McDaniels.
'[Thomas] Brown is still in talks with the #Patriots to potentially join the staff in a different role,' per @MikeReiss.
Brown, who has coached both RBs and TEs in his career, interviewed for NE's OC role in each of the last two offseasons.
He quickly rose up the Bears' ranks… pic.twitter.com/luXRDDfOgl
— Mike Kadlick (@mikekadlick) January 26, 2025
Reiss' reporting indicates that Brown could still hold a prominent role on the Patriots coaching staff, if the move is finalized.
Brown coached Wisconsin's running backs in 2014 under then-head coach Gary Andersen. He oversaw a record-breaking season from star Melvin Gordon: 343 carries, 2,587 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns. Many statistics even point to Gordon's 2014 campaign being better than Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty's Heisman-finalist 2024 season.
Brown left the Badgers in 2015 to coach running backs at Georgia. He was then the offensive coordinator at Miami from 2016-18, running backs coach at South Carolina in 2019, running backs coach for the Los Angeles Rams from 2020-21, tight ends coach for the Rams in 2022 and offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers in 2023.
He is one of several former Wisconsin coaches in the headlines. Scott Tolzien just left the Dallas Cowboys' staff, while we all await what's next for program legend Jim Leonhard.
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