Former Georgia running back Thomas Brown is expected to join the Chicago Bears staff.

The former Georgia tailback appears to be in line to coach the top pick in this year’s NFL Draft.

Thomas Brown, a former Georgia running back, has long been considered an up-and-coming NFL coach. While Brown waits for his first chance as a head coach, the 37-year-old is ready for a new career opportunity.

According to multiple sources, Brown is slated to join the Chicago Bears’ coaching staff as the passing game coordinator. Brown’s anticipated departure to Chicago, which has the first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, follows a season as the Carolina Panthers’ offensive coordinator.

Brown’s move would reconnect him with incoming Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, who previously worked with Brown at the Los Angeles Rams in 2020.

Brown’s one season with the Panthers did not go as expected. Bryce Young, Carolina’s rookie quarterback, was unreliable, and the team started 1-10 before first-year coach Frank Reich was fired. Chris Tabor, the Panthers’ special teams coordinator, served as interim head coach, and the team finished the season 2-15. The Panthers were last in the NFL in passing yards (3,245), 31st in total touchdowns (23), and tied for 21st in yards per carry (4.0).

Despite Carolina’s problems, Brown was still seen as a future head coach throughout the league. He was a finalist for the Tennessee Titans’ open post this year, having interviewed for it with the Houston Texans last year and the Miami Dolphins the year before.

Brown also interviewed with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots for their offensive coordinator positions this year.

Brown’s journey to prominence as an NFL coach has been impressive.

Brown played running back at Georgia from 2004 to 2007 before going on to have a successful coaching career. He returned to his alma institution in 2011 as a strength coach, then four years later as running backs coach, following stops at Chattanooga, Marshall, and Wisconsin.

Brown spent one season coaching at his previous post at Athens before following Mark Richt to Miami, where he worked for three seasons. He spent the 2019 season at South Carolina with Will Muschamp before moving on to the NFL, where he spent three seasons on the Rams’ coaching staff.

Brown served as the Rams’ associate head coach/running backs coach for the 2021 season, when the team won Super Bowl LVI, before taking over as tight ends coach in 2022. Brown departed Los Angeles to become offensive coordinator in Carolina, but the experience was not as successful as some involved hoped.

Brown and Reich switched play-calling duties several times throughout the season as the Panthers attempted to get back on track. That never happened during Reich’s tenure, prompting an in-season move that resulted in Reich having the fourth-shortest head-coaching tenure in NFL history.

While Brown’s stint at Carolina did not go as planned, it did not appear to have an impact on his reputation as an up-and-coming coach. Brown was just voted the NFL’s No. 2 offensive coordinator by NFLPA players.

5 Teams that could trade for Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields

If the Chicago Bears decide to trade quarterback Justin Fields, here are five teams who may be interested in him.

As we all know, Bears general manager Ryan Poles faces a career-defining decision at quarterback this offseason. He can either continue with starter Justin Fields or start again and select his own player with the first pick in the upcoming draft.

While we don’t know which way Poles will go, the Bears are increasingly expected to select Caleb Williams with the first overall pick. If that happens, Poles will seek to sell Fields to the highest bidder.

Fields missed four games in 2023 due to a thumb ailment, but when healthy, he had an up and down season. He completed 61.4% of his passes for 2,562 yards, 16 touchdowns, and nine interceptions, yielding a QBR of 46.1. Always a threat with his legs, Fields carried for 657 yards and four touchdowns in 13 games.

He had some of his greatest games of his young career last season. He passed for 335 yards and four touchdowns in Week 4 against the Denver Broncos, a career high. He backed that up with 282 yards and four touchdowns against the Washington Commanders.

Fields still has a lot of promise, and with so many clubs looking for a good quarterback leader, there should be no shortage of prospective suitors for the young quarterback, who turns 25 in March.

Here are the five clubs who appear to be most interested in what the current Bears quarterback has to offer if Chicago decides to move on. Check back with the Bear Report for ongoing coverage of the offseason.

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Let’s start with the most obvious destination. Fields is a Georgia native, and the Falcons lack a clear answer at quarterback. When it comes to trading Fields, Atlanta is almost always mentioned, and for good reason.

In addition to Fields’ probable homecoming, there are relationships to consider. Former Bears general manager Ryan Pace, who traded up to choose Fields in 2021, is now Atlanta’s director of player personnel. Pace bet on Fields once, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he backed him again.

Atlanta presently has two quarterback options: Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke, and Fields is objectively superior to both. He also has a greater ceiling and will be cost-effective for the following two seasons.

Atlanta may save $7 million by releasing Heinicke before June 1, thus a scenario in which Fields is brought in to compete with Rattler appears to be the most likely conclusion if a deal occurs. With Kyle Pitts, Bijan Robinson, and Drake London all on Atlanta’s offence, Fields would have enough of talented playmakers to work with.

Las Vegas is another team that is anticipated to be aggressive in the search for a new quarterback this summer. Fields is young and good enough to be an option for them, and a formidable one at that.

After the Jimmy Garoppolo experiment failed last season, the Raiders switched to fourth-round rookie Aidan O’Connell, who performed as expected. Last season, O’Connell started ten games for Las Vegas, passing for 2,218 yards, 12 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He’s not great with his legs, but bringing in a man like Fields to fight for the starting job appears to be a wise decision.

The Raiders were one of two teams to interview former Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, which could have given them information on Fields, whose athleticism could provide a new dimension to the Raiders offence.

And, as in Atlanta, he has a tie to a member of the Raiders’ management. Champ Kelly, the former Bears assistant director of player personnel, is currently in Las Vegas. After hiring Tom Telesco as the team’s new general manager, Raiders owner Mark Davis expects Kelly to stay on as an assistant GM. If Kelly stays in Vegas, his relationship to Fields could be useful this offseason when Vegas is looking for a quarterback.

The Patriots were the other team to interview Getsy for the open offensive coordinator post, and although that doesn’t necessarily imply New England is interested in Fields, it’s a nice hint.

In 2021, the Patriots selected Mac Jones (No. 15 overall) four choices after Chicago selected Fields (No. 11), and despite a strong rookie season, Jones subsequently faded. The 2023 season was a disaster for New England’s quarterback position. Jones played slightly more than 60% of the team’s offensive snaps, whereas 2022 fourth-round pick Bailey Zappe, who began the season on the practice squad, played less than 40% of the time.

New England has a new head coach, Jerod Mayo, who was promoted from within and is familiar with both Jones and Zappe. He’ll also want to bring in another starting signal-caller, and Fields would be a good fit.

The Patriots have the third overall pick in the draft, and Mayo has firmly intimated that he will try to add a quarterback. Drafting a quarterback while signing a free agent to compete with Jones appears to be an option for New England as well. However, if the selection does not go as planned, Fields has a high possibility of becoming one of their top options.

The Steelers own the 20th overall pick in the draft. They might utilise it to choose one of the underrated quarterback prospects. They might even consider trading a lower selection or two for a player like Fields.

Pittsburgh drafted Kenny Pickett at No. 20 overall in 2022, but things did not go as planned. The Steelers may be hesitant to select a quarterback this early in the draft again. Pickett underperformed in his second season after showing potential as a rookie. At one point during the 2023 season, he was benched in favour of Mason Rudolph.

Rudolph is poised to become an unrestricted free agency this offseason, and he could go elsewhere, leaving Pickett and Mitch Trubisky (remember him?) as Pittsburgh’s only under contract quarterbacks next season. We all know Mitch isn’t it. Adding Fields to the mix would undoubtedly liven up the room.

Fields also possesses some attributes that Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin would undoubtedly find appealing, including a great work ethic and exceptional leadership abilities. Furthermore, incoming Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who recently served as Falcons head coach, has had success creating and implementing an offensive strategy suited to dual-threat quarterbacks. With Smith’s arrival in Pittsburgh, Fields could benefit from a fresh start.