GREEN BAY, Wis. — Thomas Brown is unlikely to be the Bears’ next = coach, but the Bears’ next coach has to have a little bit of Thomas Brown in him. Maybe a lot.
“Absolutely. Thomas is great,” Bears tight end Cole Kmet said in a jubilant Bears locker room following a 24-22 victory over the Packers at Lambeau Field that gave Brown his first and only victory as interim coach after starting with four losses.
“There are so many things. His ability to be direct and tell the truth and be honest about the situation we’re in. Not sugarcoating things — that was impressive. I think he has obviously great leadership qualities as a coach and demands certain things from players.”
Brown was given the game ball after the victory — “I will end up putting it in one my man caves at some point. So it’ll always be something I’ll remember,” he said — but truth be told, until the victory, the Thomas Brown episode of this disappointing season was yet another symptom of an ailing franchise.
Brown was the breath of fresh air when he was promoted from interim offensive coordinator after Matt Eberflus was fired. He was a coach that players on both sides of the ball were excited about — a straight-talking, keep-it-real guy who would hold them accountable. He was just what they were asking for.
And two quarters into his first game as interim coach, the Bears trailed the 49ers 24-0 and were outgained 319-4 en route to a 38-13 loss at Levi’s Stadium. Then came more uninspiring performances in losses to the Vikings (30-12), the Lions (34-17) and Seahawks (6-3).
Like so much other hope this season, the notion that Brown might be an under-the-radar, Mike Tomlin-like leader-of-men coach vanished quickly. Even in victory, Brown had a particularly head-scratching gambit.
After Caleb Williams threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore to give the Bears a 20-13 lead with 10:02 remaining in the fourth quarter, Brown attempted a two-point conversion for a nine-point lead.
Keenan Allen was sacked trying to pass on a trick play, but a penalty on Packers cornerback Carrington Valentine gave the Bears a second chance at the Packers’ 1-yard line. But Brown instead decided to have Cairo Santos kick the extra point, which gave the Bears a 21-13 lead.
“We felt good about the two-point play we had,” Brown said. “It obviously wasn’t successful, but also it’s about building momentum. So just made a change after we ended up not converting on the first attempt — kick a [PAT] and make them prove they can beat us. I trust our defense.”
The Packers responded with a touchdown, but Brown’s trust in his defense still worked out when Packers backup Malik Willis threw incomplete on the two-point conversion that would have tied the game.
And he ended up a winner, which can’t be discounted. The Bears are almost certain to get their next coach from outside the organization, but general manager Ryan Poles confirmed on the team’s pregame show on ESPN 1000 that Brown will be interviewed for the job.
It’s likely a courtesy and a fact-finding mission — “I’m excited to hear from his side how we got here and how he would fix it,” Poles said. “What are the solutions to some issues we had this year?”
Brown said he couldn’t say whether he had earned the full-time job but stated his case.
“More so than the result — and it’s all about game day,” Brown said. “But what’s transpired in the building, how I’ve communicated in team meetings, how I’ve organized practice, the impact on the players — if that’s not enough to understand what I can do when given an opportunity from the very beginning, I don’t know what will.”
ilding; how I’ve communicated in team meetings; how I’ve organized practice; the impact on the players — if that’s not enough to understand what I can do when given an opportunity from the very beginning, I don’t know what will.”