Bear Digest

Thomas Brown's Chances with Bears Based on Interim History

If Thomas Brown can do enough to retain the Bears head coaching job or even produce a winning record the rest of the season he'll be bucking a major NFL trend.

Gene Chamberlain

Thomas Brown's chances for retaining the coaching job or even producing a winning record this year look bleak based on history.
Thomas Brown's chances for retaining the coaching job or even producing a winning record this year look bleak based on history. / Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images
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Bears fans are unfamiliar with this concept of the interim coach.

It's easy to see why when they went 104 years before they fired a coach during the season. It just doesn't happen much but there's no real reason for anyone to get their hopes up about an interim being read and leading a team on a winning run or playoff run.

If the Bears can get a few wins or, more importantly, some good quarterback development for Caleb Williams while Thomas Brown is their head coach then they should count themselves ahead and not really worry much about him as a future head coach.

Since the start of the Matt Nagy Bears regime in 2018, there have been 16 teams fire their head coach during the regular season besides the Bears. The only one of those interim coaches who went on to lead their team to the playoffs was current Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia when he was the Raiders special teams coordinator.

They went 7-5 after Jon Gruden got fired. The thing is, Gruden didn't have a really bad team. He had done something bad and got the axe. Gruden had been 3-2 after the Bears, led by Khalil Mack, beat his team in Las Vegas and then was fired.

In all of the other cases, a team was playing poorly, fired the head coach and the interim came in to finish, sometimes with a few more wins, sometimes not. This year Jeff Ullbrich took over after the Jets fired Robert Saleh. Saleh's team started 2-3. Ullbrich has one win and five losses.

Saints coach Dennis Allen was fired with a 2-7 record and Darren Rizzi has a 2-0 mark so far.

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Almost in every case, the interim coach was not retained as a head coach. When they did, there is buyer's remorse.

The Raiders kept Antonio Pierce after he went 5-4 as interim after Josh McDaniels (3-5) last year and the Raiders are 2-9 under Pierce in 2024.

In a very small number of cases, they should have kept the interim. Steve Wilks replaced Matt Rhule (1-4) with Carolina in 2022 and guided the Panthers to a 6-6 record. They passed him over for the job and brought in Frank Reich, who was fired in his first year after a 1-10 record.

What can be said is dating back through 2018, none of the interim coaches who finished out a season went on to become big hit as a head coach.

Raheem Morris is about the closest thing to it and he has a career record 20 games below .500 but keeps getting hired.

Interim Coaches

Fired Coaches / Interim Coaches Since 2018

2024

Jets: Robert Saleh (2-3) / Jeff Ullbrich (1-5)

Saints: Dennis Allen (2-7) / Darren Rizzi (2-0)

2023

Raiders: Josh McDaniels (3-5) / Antonio Pierce (5-4)

Chargers: Brandon Staley (5-9) / Giff Smith (0-3)

Panthers: Frank Reich (1-10) / Chris Tabor (1-5)

2022

Colts: Frank Reich (3-5-1) / Jeff Saturday (1-7)

Broncos: Nathaniel Hackett (4-11) / Jerry Rosburg (1-1)

2021

Panthers: Matt Rhule (1-4) / Steve Wilks (6-6)

Raiders: Jon Gruden (3-2) / Rich Bisaccia (7-5*)

2020

Texans: Bill O'Brien (0-4) / Romeo Crennel (4-8)

Lions: Matt Patricia (4-7) / Darrell Bevell (1-4)

Falcons: Dan Quinn (0-5) / Raheem Morris (4-7)

2019

Washington: Jay Gruden (0-5) / Bill Callahan (3-8)

Panthers: Ron Rivera (5-7) / Perry Fewell (0-4)

2018

Browns: Hue Jackson (2-5-1) / Gregg Williams (5-3)


Packers: Mike McCarthy (4-7-1) / Joe Philbin (2-2)

*Made playoffs

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.