Headlines

Thomas Brown

Vikings To Interview Thomas Brown For OC Job

By | at February 15, 2022 8:11 pm

Following a Super Bowl win on Sunday, Rams running backs coach Thomas Brown is now eyeing a potential promotion. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter), Brown will interview with the Vikings for their offensive coordinator job.

[RELATED: Vikings Plan To Hire Rams’ Kevin O’Connell]

Former Rams OC (and new Vikings head coach) Kevin O’Connell will surely recruit some of his fellow Rams coaches to Minnesota, and it appears that Brown is on his list. Only 35, Brown has made a rapid rise through the coaching ranks. Following a nine-year stint in the NCAA, Brown has spent the past two years with the Rams. After starting as RBs coach in 2021, Brown also earned the title of assistant head coach in 2021.

Thanks to his success in Los Angeles, Brown was considered for the Dolphins HC gig this offseason. According to Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network (on Twitter), Brown impressed the Dolphins brass, and the coach is considered a “respected offensive mind” around the NFL.

Meanwhile, the Vikings are finalizing their deal with O’Connell to be their new head coach, reports NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). An announcement is coming, and the press conference is expected to take place on Thursday.

1 comment Los Angeles Rams Minnesota Vikings

Sean McVay, Zac Taylor In Line For Extensions; Latest On Rams’ Coaching Staff

By | at February 13, 2022 10:33 am

Rams HC Sean McVay and Bengals HC Zac Taylor, who will be squaring off in Super Bowl LVI tonight, will be in line for contract extensions this offseason, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

We had already heard that Cincinnati was planning a new deal for Taylor, who has only one year left on his contract. Schefter does, however, remind us that Taylor — the former McVay disciple — is presently the lowest-paid head coach in the NFL, with a $3.75MM annual salary (Twitter link). Obviously, that will change soon.

McVay, meanwhile, was recently the subject of some idle speculation that he was contemplating leaving the coaching ranks, but he has put those rumors to bed. He is under contract through 2023 as a result of the extension he signed in 2019, a deal that elevated him from one of the league’s lowest-paid head coaches to a salary that, per Joe Rivera of the Sporting News, is believed to be in the $8.5MM ballpark. Another extension might mean an eight-figure annual income for McVay.

The 36-year-old head coach has compiled a 55-26 regular season record, three NFC West titles, and two NFC championships during his five-year run. The success that he and his clubs have enjoyed have made other teams anxious to poach his staffers, and that has happened again in 2022, with OC Kevin O’Connell set to become head coach of the Vikings and secondary coach/passing game coordinator Ejiro Evero heading to Denver to become the Broncos’ defensive coordinator.

As Schefter reports in a full-length piece, O’Connell is likely to bring Rams tight ends coach/passing game coordinator Wes Phillips with him to Minnesota to serve as the Vikes’ offensive coordinator or passing game coordinator. Schefter names Kentucky OC Liam Coen — a Rams staffer from 2018-20 — as a “prime candidate” to replace O’Connell, though RB coach Thomas Brown could also garner consideration for the soon-to-be-vacant OC job. Yet another candidate is Greg Olson, who spent the last four seasons as the Raiders’ OC but who was the Rams’ QB coach in 2017, McVay’s first season as HC.

Whether it’s to become Los Angeles’ new OC or to reprise his role as QB coach, Olson is expected to rejoin McVay’s staff in 2022.

0 comments Cincinnati Bengals Los Angeles Rams Minnesota Vikings

2022 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker

By | at February 6, 2022 10:15 pm

Last year, seven NFL teams opted to make a head coaching change. Sean Payton stepping away from the Saints created nine full-time vacancies available this year.

Listed below are the head coaching candidates that have been linked to each of the teams with vacancies, along with their current status. If and when other teams decide to make head coaching changes, they’ll be added to this list. Here is the current breakdown:

Updated 2-7-22 (1:45pm CT)

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

63 comments Arizona Cardinals Buffalo Bills Chicago Bears Cincinnati Bengals Dallas Cowboys Denver Broncos Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Houston Texans Indianapolis Colts Jacksonville Jaguars Kansas City Chiefs Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Chargers Los Angeles Rams Miami Dolphins Minnesota Vikings New England Patriots New Orleans Saints New York Giants PFR Originals Philadelphia Eagles San Francisco 49ers Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Dolphins Request To Interview Rams’ Thomas Brown

By | at January 14, 2022 2:08 pm

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.

0 comments Los Angeles Rams Miami Dolphins

Coaching Notes: O’Connell, Rams, Flaherty, Giants

By | at February 28, 2021 8:28 pm

We heard last month that new Chargers coach Brandon Staley was interested in bringing OC Kevin O’Connell with him from the Rams, but that Sean McVay had blocked the lateral move. McVay confirmed that news when speaking to the media earlier this week, and indicated that he’s putting more on O’Connell’s plate to keep him happy. McVay said his top offensive deputy will have more responsibility this upcoming season, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic tweets.

The Rams head coach stressed how important it was for the team to retain O’Connell in the face of the Chargers’ advances. It doesn’t sound like he has any intention of giving up play-calling duties anytime soon, but at least O’Connell will be more involved in the operation. McVay let his old OC Matt LaFleur leave to go to the Titans for a lateral move since it came with play-calling responsibilities, but he wasn’t as keen to see O’Connell walk out the door. O’Connell, still only 35, was Washington’s OC in 2019 before getting bounced with the rest of Jay Gruden’s staff and then getting picked up by McVay.

  • O’Connell isn’t the only one getting additional responsibilities on the Rams staff. Running backs coach Thomas Brown has now been given the title of assistant head coach, tight ends coach Wes Phillips has been named passing game coordinator, and defensive line coach Eric Henderson has been promoted to run game coordinator, the team announced. Knowing the history of McVay’s staffs, each of these guys will probably be head coaches by 2022. All jokes aside, Phillips is the son of former Cowboys head coach and Rams DC Wade Phillips, so it’s interesting to see him rising up through the ranks if nothing else.
  • The Giants are bringing a familiar face back into the fold. Former New York offensive line coach Pat Flaherty will return to the team in an advisory role, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com tweets. It’s notable because Flaherty was such a staple of those Eli Manning era Giants teams, serving as their offensive line coach for all 12 of Tom Coughlin’s seasons as head coach from 2004-15. As such, Flaherty won two Super Bowls with the team. The Giants had a lot of drama in their offensive line room last year, and are probably hoping the seasoned vet Flaherty can be a stabilizing presence. He was the Dolphins’ offensive line coach in 2019.
  • In case you missed it, the Eagles did in fact request an interview with Eric Bieniemy for their HC vacancy, putting to rest a mini-controversy.
3 comments Los Angeles Rams New York Giants

West Rumors: Broncos, Bell, Rams

By | at October 17, 2020 3:17 pm

Broncos running backs coach Curtis Modkins will not travel with the team to New England for the rescheduled Broncos-Patriots game due to a positive COVID-19 test, the team announced Saturday. Modkins, 49, is in his third season as Denver’s running backs coach. He is not experiencing symptoms from the virus, according to the team, which has performed the customary contact tracing after this positive test. The former Bills and 49ers offensive coordinator is a holdover from the Vance Joseph regime and has been retained despite the Broncos changing OCs the past two offseasons. Modkins has been an NFL assistant since the 2008 season. Modkins’ son, Jett, is a Broncos intern and lives with his father. Jett Modkins will not make the trip either, Troy Renck of Denver7 notes. The Broncos will also be without Melvin Gordon from their backfield mix Sunday.

Here is the latest from the West divisions:

  • Le’Veon Bell‘s Chiefs deal will come with a $1MM base salary, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. The Dolphins were believed to be offering more money and potentially a multiyear deal, but another report indicated Miami did not dangle two years in its Bell proposal. Bell will have around $1MM more available to him through incentives. One of those incentives will be based around Bell’s workload. Bell’s Chiefs contract, to some degree, lessen the Jets’ burden. They owed the former All-Pro back approximately $6MM after releasing him after five games.
  • Another team’s running backs coach will be out of action as well. Rams RBs coach Thomas Brown blew out his Achilles’ tendon during practice Thursday, Sean McVay confirmed. In his first season as an NFL assistant, Brown joined the Rams’ staff this offseason. The 34-year-old position coach will undergo surgery next week.
  • Drew Lock is set to return as the Broncos‘ quarterback Sunday. He will have far from his optimal group of skill-position players. Phillip Lindsay will play; so will Jerry Jeudy. However, Denver will be down Noah Fant and K.J. Hamler. Fant suffered an ankle injury in Denver’s win over the Jets more than two weeks ago; Hamler reinjured the hamstring he pulled during training camp. Lock was able to target Courtland Sutton when he last played (Week 2), but Denver’s No. 1 wide receiver is out for the season with an ACL tear. Lock will have a difficult task against the Patriots, who will have Stephon Gilmore back after his stay on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list.
0 comments COVID-19 Denver Broncos Kansas City Chiefs Los Angeles Rams
Show all
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors