It was already known that Kevin O’Connell is going to be leaving the Los Angeles Rams to become the next head coach of the Minnesota Vikings after the Super Bowl. But with O’Connell making his way to Minnesota, he could potentially bring a familiar face with him to be his offensive coordinator.
Amid the celebratory festivities for the Rams following their Super Bowl victory, there are reports that the Vikings plan on interviewing Thomas Brown for their offensive coordinator position.
The #Vikings plan to interview #Rams assistant head coach/RBs coach Thomas Brown for their offensive coordinator job, per source.
Brown — a rising assistant who interviewed for the #Dolphins’ head coaching job — is also a candidate to replace Kevin O’Connell as OC in L.A.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 16, 2022
Brown joined the Rams as the team’s running backs coach in 2020, immediately becoming a well-respected assistant on Sean McVay’s coaching staff. Besides remaining as the running backs coach in 2021, Brown was also given the title of assistant head coach this season.
Even though he doesn’t have much experience outside of being a running backs coach, Brown interviewed for the head coaching position for the Miami Dolphins. Mike McDaniel, the offensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers, has since been named the head coach of the Dolphins.
The expectation is for O’Connell to officially be named the head coach of the Vikings later this week. It’s not unusual for new head coaches to try and bring someone from their previous team to be an assistant for them to add some familiarity to their coaching staff.
While O’Connell seems to want Brown in Minnesota with him, Brown is also expected to be a candidate to replace O’Connell as the offensive coordinator in Los Angeles. Losing assistant coaches has been a common theme for the Rams since McVay arrived as his coaching tree has had plenty of success thus far.
Despite the chances of him getting a promotion from either team, it will be interesting to see if Brown chooses to remain with the Rams or join O’Connell’s staff on the Vikings.
