Thomas Brown coaching career: A look at Panthers OC’s journey in football

Thomas Brown is seen by some in the league as one of the best young offensive minds in the NFL. The 37-year-old is the Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator who was recently given play-calling duties by head coach Frank Reich. The journey for Brown began at his alma mater, the University of Georgia.

In 2011, he spent one season at Georgia as the school's assistant strength & conditioning coach. Brown would join the school as the team's running back coach in 2015.

His first coaching job was at the FCS level for Chattanooga as the running back coach in 2012. He took the same role at two other schools in Marshall (2013) and Wisconsin (2014).

At Wisconsin, Brown coached current NFL running back Melvin Gordon. Gordon had the second-best season in school history by a running back (2,587 rushing yards and 32 total touchdowns).

Brown settled into a school beyond one season in his coaching career at the University of Miami (FL). He was the offensive coordinator and running backs coach for three seasons under Mark Richt (2016 - 2018). Richt was Georgia's head coach in Brown's two previous stints.

After spending 2019 with the University of South Carolina, Thomas Brown started coaching in the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams. Under Sean McVay, he was the Rams' running back coach in 2020.

The following year saw him also become an assistant head coach along with his running back duties. In that 2021 season, the Rams had two running backs to rush for over 680 yards: Sony Michel (845 yards) and Darrell Henderson (688 yards).

Last year, he became the tight ends coach while still being the assistant head coach with Los Angeles.

When Brown took the offensive coordinator job in Carolina, he became one of three Black individuals to have the same role. He joined Brian Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles and Eric Bieniemy of the Washington Commanders.

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Did Thomas Brown play in the NFL?

The Panthers offensive coordinator was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the sixth round of the 2008 draft. He spent one season with the Falcons before spending the final two of his career with the Cleveland Browns.

Thomas Brown was drafted out of Georgia, where he played four seasons at Georgia. He rushed for 2,646 yards and 23 touchdowns at the school. He ranks in the top 10 in program history in yards and top 15 in touchdowns.