Thomas Brown Failed His Audition For The Bears Job

You never want to make proclamations after just one game, but it’s hard not to after what Chicago Bears fans witnessed on Sunday in San Francisco. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. The players came out with some of the worst efforts witnessed all season. A 49ers team missing arguably its four best players blasted them for a 24-0 lead in the first half. Caleb Williams and the offense had only four yards, which is the worst post-2000. It is beyond evident that this team has problems that run deeper than the head coach. Even so, Thomas Brown may have flubbed his chance to win the job before it barely began.

For over a week, we heard about the man’s leadership capability and that he was a head coach-in-waiting. Maybe he could light a fire under this team to finally get over the hump. Instead, they looked just as unprepared and disinterested as ever. Not all of that is on Brown. It can’t be. That said, it is clear he doesn’t have any answers. He may end up becoming a great coach in the future, but this team is in desperate need of fresh voices at the top, not to mention some adjustments to the roster.

Thomas Brown got dealt a tough hand.

He inherited a team at the end of its rope, on a six-game losing streak. Perhaps that loss in Detroit broke something mentally. Whatever the case, their effort in San Francisco was inexcusable. This wasn’t the team that narrowly lost the Super Bowl in February, but the Bears made them look like it. In truth, history says this was likely coming. Teams that fired their head coaches midseason rarely get better. At best, they stay the same. More often than not, they get worse. Brown isn’t breaking any new ground.

One must feel bad for him. He got handed a shit sandwich and was told to make a meal out of it. Some will think it’s unfair to judge him this early, but the hard reality is this staff has to go. The players aren’t listening to them anymore, even if Eberflus is gone. Thomas Brown is part of it. Players may like him, but they don’t believe in him. That is unlikely to change in the final month of the season. The best thing for everybody is to wipe the slate clean.