The situation with Rams assistant head coach and tight ends coach Thomas Brown has become quite interesting. While Bucs fans have all their attention squared away on finding their next offensive coordinator (and quarterback, for that matter), what needs to be understood is that other teams are looking to fill out their coaching staffs as well.

We know that Brown has interviewed with the Bucs, and Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reported that Brown is having a second interview that will be completed on Wednesday. That makes him the second coaching candidate to receive another meeting with Tampa Bay, joining Bengals quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher.

Thomas Brown Also Meeting With Panthers This Week

The twist in all of this is that after Thomas Brown meets with the Bucs, he’s interviewing with the NFC South rival Carolina Panthers on Thursday.

The Panthers have been very busy this offseason. They hired Frank Reich to become their new head coach and recently brought on Jim Caldwell as a senior assistant. They also hired Duce Staley to be their running backs coach and assistant head coach.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

While both teams still need an offensive coordinator, the Panthers have the appeal of having an offensive coach in Reich. They are a step ahead in hiring assistants, too. The Bucs, on the other hand, are in a much more uncertain situation as head coach Todd Bowles could be out of a job if the team doesn’t perform well this season. Tampa Bay also needs to sign position coaches at quarterback, running back and wide receiver. At the same time, Brown would likely be able to have a say in hiring those position coaches as the Bucs’ offensive coordinator, which could be appealing to him.

What Brown will have to decide if he chooses between the two teams in the division is if he’d like to learn under Reich, who most likely will be there for at least two seasons since he recently was hired, or take a gamble on working with a defensive-minded Bowles, who will give him free rein and allow him to run his own offense. If Brown succeeds in Tampa, he’ll presumably have carte blanche with his side of the ball.

Thomas Brown Comes From The McVay Coaching Tree

Rams assistant head coach/TEs coach Thomas Brown – Photo by: USA Today

The appeal here is that Thomas Brown has spent the last three seasons in Sean McVay’s versatile offense. After holding a running backs coaching gig with South Carolina in 2019, he jumped to the NFL, where he coached running backs with the Rams in 2020.

Brown continued in that role, but also became McVay’s assistant head coach, which is a role he occupies today. The 36-year old Brown moved from running backs to coaching the Rams’ tight ends in 2022.

He helped the Rams win the Super Bowl at the end of the 2021 season, as Los Angeles defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI, 23-20. The Rams running backs finished 10th in the league, averaging 126.1 rushing yards per game. That’s a significant step up from where the Bucs finished in rushing during the 2022 season, as they fielded one of the worst ground attacks in league history.