Chicago Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown has had a wild few weeks – and he revealed Thursday that drastic weight loss has followed as a result.
Brown was initially promoted from passing game coordinator to offensive coordinator on November 12 following the firing of Shane Waldron, and he was then elevated to head coach just 17 days later after Matt Eberflus was dismissed.
And while speaking to reporters ahead of Chicago’s Week 14 matchup at the 49ers, Brown shared that he’s lost more than 20 pounds since his first job change of two.
‘The major change, [the players] probably don’t know… I was trying to go on a weight loss journey about 20 days ago and I couldn’t lose weight at all,’ Brown said.
‘I was about 225 [pounds] the morning of the announcement of being the OC. This morning I was 203.
Brown went on to explain that his weight loss was almost accidental as he found himself with an increased amount of coaching duties.
Thomas Brown is seen on November 17 – five days after his promotion to offensive coordinator
He said on Thursday to reporters that he had gone from 225 pounds to 203 since last month
‘I wouldn’t even say it was stress,’ he said. ‘I think stress could help out. I’m not really stressed,’ he said.
‘But what I realized, if you increase tasks to your day you forget about food. And so, I went a couple days and just really didn’t eat. Didn’t even think about it. I wasn’t hungry. I was thinking about the next moment, what to say to this player, doing game planning, and I look up and I’m almost 30 pounds down, so we’ll keep going – see how long it lasts.’
Brown, 38, will hope to impress in his first NFL head coaching opportunity over the final five games of the season.
At 4-8, the Bears’ playoff hopes are hanging on by a thread after a string of close defeats.
The team’s current six-game losing streak includes four losses by three points or less – including a disastrous instance of clock management on Thanksgiving against the Lions, which led to Eberflus’ firing.
Brown is only in his first year with the Bears but previously served as the Panthers’ offensive coordinator and the Rams’ assistant head coach, among other roles.
‘I try to bring energy every single day. I’m a very direct person,’ Brown said.
‘… This always has been and always will be a players’ game, so it’s about us understanding those guys and [doing] a really good job in the locker room of manning it, owning it and taking it further than that.’
