Thomas Brown is a 'Natural' Play-Caller in Frank Reich's Eyes

Thomas Brown is gaining some valuable experience this preseason.

Frank Reich will call the shots for the Carolina Panthers offense in 2023, but at some point, he'll delegate the play-calling duties to his young offensive coordinator, Thomas Brown.

What better time for a young play-caller to get experience than in an actual game? That's what Brown did in the second half of last week's preseason game against the New York Jets and will remain the plan for the remainder of preseason play. 

"I thought he did a great job. It came very easy to him," Reich stated. "He's been doing it. The whole OTAs and training camp when we go two-minute, you know, I'm just having him call everything. He's doing a great job. He's a natural. He really is. Very quick-minded. If you know Thomas, you know he's very decisive and he does call his plays with conviction. I think this is a great experience for him." 

One of the biggest issues the NFL still has is the lack of hiring minorities in head coaching or coordinator roles. There are only four teams in the NFL that feature a minority offensive coordinator - Brian Johnson (Eagles), Eric Bieniemy (Washington Commanders), Dave Canales (Seattle Seahawks), and Thomas Brown.

Two years ago, before they knew one another, Brown heard Reich speak at the NFL Coach Accelerator program in Atlanta and was blown away with Reich's passion about solving the issue.

"I was surprised and excited about how honest he was about some of the issues around the league and his thought process towards it and being able to be on the forefront of doing everything he can in his role to kind of address those same issues. I haven't really heard that from many people."

Reich had no prior history with Brown and didn't really have any connections prior to his hiring. But he gave Thomas an opportunity to interview and he knocked it out of the park. Over the course of the last several months, the two have formed a strong relationship and Brown is thankful for getting a chance to call some plays.

"It's been phenomenal to be around him from day one. And every day, we continue to grow closer together, continue to have great communication, and continue to be on the same page as far as the overall goals. As far as how a game is called, I think your personality kind of shows when it comes to being a play-caller. It's definitely going to be the same system, the same call sheet, but when you actually activate it's sometimes more so personality driven. Being able to have that opportunity is great for my development, but as well so we can be on the same page."

One of Thomas' best qualities, and you'll hear it from just about everyone you speak to is his ability to communication and capture the attention of a room. He knows how to deliver a message, speaks it with confidence, and that alone will take him a long way in this business.

"He's a stud," offensive line coach James Campen said. "The guy commands a room in such a positive way with players. He commands a room with us as coaches, but in a positive way. Maybe you don't see it, but he has a really good sense of humor. He says some funny stuff now. Just like where the heck did that come from, you know? But he's got terrific command and he's articulate. He's been really terrific. He's a good man too."

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