The New England Patriots are one of seven NFL teams resetting its coaching staff this offseason and there is plenty of noteworthy crossover of which to speak.
New England hired Mike Vrabel, a former Super Bowl champion player with that organization and more recently the head coach of the Tennessee Titans, to run its sideline. In turn, Vrabel hired former Chicago Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown to a significant role on his new staff.
“Thomas Brown, the former [Bears] interim head coach, will serve as a tight ends coach and passing game coordinator under Mike Vrabel,” Windy City Gridiron reported via an X post on Monday, January 27.
Thomas Brown Has Held 4 Different Jobs in Past Calendar Year
GettyFormer Chicago Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown.
Brown’s career has been a veritable roller coaster over the past year, which he started as Chicago’s pass game coordinator.
Former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus hired Shane Waldron as offensive coordinator heading into the 2024 campaign but sacked him mid-season amid offensive struggles, promoting Brown to the OC position. Just weeks later, the front office parted ways with Eberflus following a comedy of late-game errors that arguably cost the team multiple wins in close contests.
Brown assumed the head coaching role in Chicago following the team’s nationally-televised loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day. He led the Bears to a 1-4 record down the stretch, and while the front office afforded Brown an interview, it was fairly obvious from the start that he wasn’t in the upper echelon of candidates for the permanent head coaching position.
In the end, it might have been better for Brown had Eberflus retained his job, as Brown would have remained in the offensive coordinator position and may have kept it moving forward under the former regime. Instead, he will work for Josh McDaniels who is back in New England for his third stint as offensive coordinator with the Patriots.
Matt Eberflus Likely to Land Defensive Coordinator Position With Dallas Cowboys
GettyFormer Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus.
Meanwhile, Eberflus is also about to land his next NFL job.
He served as the defensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts for several seasons before landing the Bears’ head coaching job in 2022. It appears now that will return to the position of DC with the Dallas Cowboys, another team that is navigating a change at head coach this offseason.
“Former [Bears] coach Matt Eberflus is headed to Dallas today for an interview, and as long as all goes well, he’s expected to be named the [Cowboys] defensive coordinator, per sources,” Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported.
The last strand of interconnectedness between Chicago, New England, Dallas and the Lions is that former Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson — who oversaw that team’s victory against the Bears on Thanksgiving and helped bring about Eberflus’s dismissal and Brown’s elevation — has now taken over as the next head coach in the Windy City.
Johnson on Sunday hired former New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen as his new defensive coordinator. On the same day, Johnson named 28-year-old Declan Doyle, most recently the tight ends for the Denver Broncos, as Chicago’s new offensive coordinator. Johnson, however, will retain play-calling duties.
