One of the more interesting names to surface in this year’s head coaching market, Rams’ running backs coach/assistant head coach Thomas Brown has been targeted as a candidate by the Miami Dolphins. Tom Pelissero, of NFL Network, broke the news in a tweet that compares him to a young Mike Tomlin. As far as I can tell, this is the first time Brown’s name has been brought up for a job this high in the coaching ranks.
Brown had a short career in the NFL after being taken in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. As a young running back, Brown saw his rookie season end before it could even get going when a horse collar tackle landed him on IR. He never ended up finding his way onto the field after that.
Not one to sit dormant, Brown went back to his alma mater and became a strength and conditioning coach for the Georgia Bulldogs. He decided to take a step into coaching accepting the running backs coaching position at UT Chattanooga. He began to progress through the college football ranks as he spent a season each at Marshall, Wisconsin, and Georgia as a running backs coach. He followed Mark Richt to Miami where he spent three seasons before taking one last college job at South Carolina. Brown even rose to the title of offensive coordinator at Miami, although play calling duties remained with Coach Richt. Along all these stops, Brown mentored future NFL players, coaching Melvin Gordon, Corey Clement, Dare Ogunbowale, and Derek Watt at Wisconsin, Sony Michel and Nick Chubb at Georgia, Gus Edwards, Travis Homer, and DeeJay Dallas at Miami, and Tavien Feaster at South Carolina. In his lone season with Gordon, Gordon finished 42 yards short of breaking Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record.
After that last season in South Carolina, Brown accepted the running backs coaching position for the Rams, helping them to cope with the loss of Todd Gurley by utilizing the three-headed attack of Cam Akers, Darrell Henderson, and Malcolm Brown. This season, Brown was reunited with Michel and, despite the loss of Akers for the season, has led a fairly talented running backs group.
Brown is known for developing a trust with his players who would run through walls for him. He’s an advocate for his players and takes responsibility for their development outside the game as much as in it, as was displayed in a clip from HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” in which he spoke to his position group about the racial issues plaguing the nation.
I don’t expect this to be the last time time we see Brown’s name come up for a coaching job and I wouldn’t even be surprised to see him nab the Miami job. Get to know the name Thomas Brown. The 35-year old is only beginning to make his name in the coaching circuit.