Rams' Thomas Brown Agrees to Contract as Panthers OC on Frank Reich's Coaching Staff

Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich made a significant hire Friday as he rounds out his staff, adding Los Angeles Rams assistant head coach and tight ends coach Thomas Brown as offensive coordinator.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero noted Brown is considered to be a "highly regarded young coach" and that he received head coaching interviews in each of the past two offseasons. The 36-year-old joined the Rams as running backs coach in 2020 before adding the title of assistant head coach a year later. He moved from running backs coach to tight ends coach this past season.

Though Brown was a key member of Sean McVay's staff, the team decided to hire former Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur to that position last month. LaFleur replaced Liam Coen, who left the team to the become offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Kentucky.

Brown is a former NFL running back who was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the sixth round in 2008. He never saw the field in a regular-season game, as he was placed on injured reserve that preseason after a horse-collar tackle. He spent time with the Cleveland Browns practice squad in 2009 and then quickly transitioned to coaching.

The hiring of Brown continued Carolina's trend of adding rising young coaches under Reich. Ejiro Evero was named defensive coordinator Feb. 5 after spending just one season in the position with the Denver Broncos.