It’s been a busy day for Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive coordinator candidates. On the heels of Arthur Smith being hired as Pittsburgh’s next OC and Houston Texans’ QB Coach Jerrod Johnson remaining in his position with the team, the third person the Steelers interviewed over the last two weeks also has found a destination. Thomas Brown is being hired as the Chicago Bears’ Passing Game Coordinator, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
As Pelissero’s tweet notes, Brown unites with a familiar face in Bears’ new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. The two worked together under Sean McVay with the Los Angeles Rams.
Brown left the Rams ahead of the 2023 season, hired by new head coach Frank Reich to serve as the Carolina Panthers’ offensive coordinator. It was a difficult year as the Panthers, despite having No. 1 overall pick QB Bryce Young, finished with the 31st-ranked offense. Brown only held play calling duties for half the season. Reich handled those duties the first half of the season before allowing Brown to call plays for three weeks following the team’s bye.
When results didn’t improve, Reich reclaimed play calling control until he was fired after the team’s twelfth game. Brown finished out the year as the Panthers’ play caller but the results didn’t improve, save for a 30-point showing late in the year against the Green Bay Packers. Brown was not slated to return to the Panthers under new head coach Dave Canales, hired last week.
Brown was the first person the Steelers interviewed for their offensive coordinator vacancy, meeting with the team on January 24. Ultimately, Pittsburgh gave the job to Smith, signing a three-year contract to be the team’s offensive coordinator through 2026. The fourth candidate the Steelers hoped to speak with was Zac Robinson, who followed Raheem Morris to Atlanta to become their offensive coordinator.
