Is Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Thomas Brown about to have a painfully short stint with the sheet? It’s possible.
After yet another embarrassing showing on offense in yet another loss—this time to the Chicago Bears—head coach Frank Reich was asked if he’d consider reclaiming play-calling duties from Brown.
“Obviously, as the head coach, I gotta look at everything,” he told reporters on Friday. “I do understand though—as a longtime play-caller myself—that when things aren’t goin’ well, it’s really, really easy to point the finger at play-calling. So I don’t wanna overreact to that. I’m gonna continue to evaluate everything and do what we think is best for the team.
“But like I said, because of my experience calling it, I understand how much responsibility and how the finger gets pointed. It’s usually several factors. I’m not sayin’ it’s not important. It is important and it does factor. But I just don’t wanna jump to any quick conclusions. But as a head coach, obviously, I’m open to always doin’ what I think is best for us to win.”
Three weeks ago, Reich thought it was best that he hand over the keys to Brown—who is in his first year as a coordinator. But the change has yielded similarly disappointing results, as the Panthers have scored just two offensive touchdowns in Brown’s three games in the role.
Last night, Carolina averaged 3.7 yards per play and converted on only three of their 15 third-down tries. With the rest of the Week 10 slate yet to be played, the unit is currently averaging the third-fewest yards per game (275.6) and ranks 27th in scoring.
So, yeah, something’s gotta change. But will that change come at Brown’s expense?
