Carolina Panthers set to hire Thomas Brown as their offensive coordinator

The Carolina Panthers plan to hire Los Angeles Rams assistant head coach Thomas Brown as their offensive coordinator, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport. Brown is a well thought of young coach that has interviewed a number of times for head coaching positions across the league for the past two offseasons.

He’s got an extensive amount of coaching experience, both on the collegiate level and the NFL level. In the college football coaching ranks, Brown has worked with Georgia (2011 and 2015), Chattanooga (2012), Marshall (2013), Wisconsin (2014), Miami (Florida) (2016-2018), and South Carolina (2019). His first stint as an offensive coordinator came with the Miami Hurricanes, where he served under Mark Richt, his former head coach with the Georgia Bulldogs.

In the NFL coaching ranks, Brown has been with the Los Angeles Rams since 2020. He worked as their running backs coach in 2020, before being promoted to their assistant head coach role in 2021 and 2022. Brown worked with their running backs in 2021, before working with their tight ends during the 2022 season.

As a player, Brown played his college football with the Georgia Bulldogs, earning freshman All-SEC honors after racking up 875 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground on 172 carries. He had a very productive second season with Georgia, once again leading the Bulldogs with 736 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 147 attempts. He racked up a season-high that year against the South Carolina Gamecocks, piling up 146 rushing yards on 20 carries.

His senior season, Brown piled up 779 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on 148 attempts, despite splitting time with the uber-talented Knowshon Moreno. He also had to sit out three games that season with a broken collarbone. Brown earned SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors after he shred the Ole Miss defense for a career-high 180 rushing yards.

He currently ranks as the Bulldogs’ tenth all-time leading rusher, which is certainly impressive considering the tremendous success and history the school has had at the position over the years. He piled up 2,646 career rushing yards and 25 touchdowns during his time there.

During his NFL playing career, Brown had a brief stint with the Atlanta Falcons, before joining the Cleveland Browns from 2009-2010. Once his playing career ended, he decided to get into coaching.