Patriots want to add former head coach to McDaniels’ staff

Patriots

Thomas Brown ended the 2024 season as interim head coach of the Chicago Bears.

By Conor Ryan

January 26, 2025 | 5:00 PM

1 minute to read

The Patriots have plenty of experience in place with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels back in Foxborough for a third stint in 2025. 

But New England is reportedly looking to add another coach with head-coaching experience to McDaniels’ offensive staff this upcoming season. 

“The Patriots had interviewed interim Chicago Bears head coach Thomas Brown for their offensive coordinator job that ultimately went to McDaniels, but Brown is still in talks with the team to potentially join the staff in a different role, according to league sources,” ESPN’s Mike Reiss wrote in a column published Sunday.

Brown, 38, could be a useful add for New England as a running backs coach or pass game coordinator, giving McDaniels another resource as the team looks to further develop Drake Maye in 2025 and beyond. 

New England’s running backs could also use a new coaching voice, with New England’s go-to option on the ground in Rhamondre Stevenson averaging a career-low 3.9 yards per carry in 2024. 

Brown, who played three seasons in the NFL as a running back, made a rapid rise up the coaching ranks this past season with the Chicago Bears. 

After initially being hired as Chicago’s passing game coordinator in 2024, Brown was promoted as the team’s offensive coordinator on Nov. 12 once Shane Waldron was fired. Brown remained in that role for just three weeks, as he was named the team’s interim head coach after they fired Matt Eberflus on Nov. 29. 

Reiss’ column comes just a few days after CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones also tabbed Brown as a potential addition to McDaniels’ staff this offseason. 

“I would not at all be surprised if he winds up — if he does not get an OC job somewhere in the NFL — if he winds up coming to New England and being with Drake Maye and with Josh McDaniels as they turn the page into this new chapter of New England football,” Jones said of Brown.

 

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.