You may be as good as gold in the NFL when you get the stamp of offensive approval from Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay. So, the Carolina Panthers might have themselves quite the mine in Thomas Brown.
McVay spoke about his former assistant and current Panthers offensive coordinator, who was officially given play-calling duties by head coach Frank Reich on Monday. He believes what he saw out of Brown in Los Angeles will help him excel at his expanded role in Charlotte.
“I think the biggest compliment I can give him is the consistency at which he approached every day and how that built towards him interviewing the way that he did with Coach Reich,” McVay told reporters yesterday. “I remember when I was speaking with him about it, I think this was something that he envisioned inevitably happening and I know he’ll attack it and do a really good job being able to collaborate with the rest of the coaching staff and figuring out how to put your guy’s players in the best positions, but I’m not at all surprised and looking forward to him doing a great job attacking that opportunity.”
Brown served multiple positions under McVay from 2020 to 2022—including as a running backs coach, an assistant head coach and a tight ends coach. But even before working together and winning a Super Bowl at the pro level, the two knew one another from their high school days in Georgia.
McVay was a star quarterback at Marist School in Brookhaven while Brown was a standout rusher from nearby Tucker. So, yeah, Sean really knows what Thomas is about.
He was also asked what he thinks Brown can do for rookie quarterback Bryce Young.
“Well, I think he’s got great guys on that staff that have background of playing quarterback in the NFL, but Thomas has always been preparing himself for that opportunity,” he replied. “Seeing the game through the quarterback’s lens, what are the reads? What is the timing and rhythm with how you want to play with your feet? What are the different things in terms of how do you want to read certain coverage contours based on the concept?
“Those were the types of questions going back to even what (Reporter) Darin was asking, that he was always so inquisitive and wanted to know about and have the ownership of the total picture. That’s why I think being able to use the help that you have, but then also the work that he’s put in to prepare for this opportunity. He’ll be ready to roll.”
