Change in Play-Calling Duties? Why Now is Not the Time

It's two games into the season and there's a portion of the fan base calling for Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich to hand over the offensive play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Thomas Brown.

Through two games, the Panthers are averaging 149.5 passing yards per game and 260 yards of total offense. Carolina has scored 27 points combined in their two losses, seven of which came on the final drive of Monday night's game when the Saints were just trying to keep the ball in front of them, dropping seven or eight into coverage.

I understand the frustration with the offense or lack thereof. I do. But the last thing this team needs is for Frank to pass off the play-calling duties to Thomas Brown. This is no disrespect to Brown whatsoever because I believe he will be a good play-caller one day, potentially leading him to a head coaching opportunity. But now is not the time.

There is a reason Frank Reich was hired by David Tepper and Scott Fitterer. They knew they were going to make a move for a young quarterback and to give that top pick the best chance to succeed, they needed someone with years of experience not only calling plays but working with quarterbacks.

Thomas Brown has never called a single play in the regular season of an NFL game. Ever. And now some folks believe he is the one who will pull this offense out of the mud?

In my opinion, that's the last thing you want to do. You have a young quarterback struggling, the offensive line is without two of its starters, and the receivers are just flat-out not getting open. Thomas Brown calling the shots isn't going to change any of those issues. The Panthers have a personnel problem, not a play-selection problem.

"Listen, I mentioned this before, the way that we call plays, I’m calling the plays but it is very collaborative," Reich said following the loss to New Orleans. "I’m talking to those guys on the sidelines but I’m the one that calls them. I’m always going to do what I think is best for the team. Right now, I think it’s best for the team that I’m calling the plays. I’m confident in the play calling. We all have to get better but I’m not ready to do anything there. Thomas is a great coach. One day I want him to call it. When that will be, I don’t know. Right now, I know it’s a lot of things. It’s not the play-calling. I can be better. All the coaches can be better. All the players can be better. I’m not saying it’s perfect but I’m confident we have the coaches and the players and the play caller to be better on offense."

Let's be real here. Let the guy who has done this for years and who has pulled an offense out of the mud time and time again do his job. There will be a place and time for Thomas Brown to take over but now is not that time.

Sure, Brown drew up some stuff in the preseason and the offense moved the ball, but that's the twos, threes, and fours going against other twos, threes, and fours. Many of those guys aren't even on the roster and teams aren't necessarily dialing up the same coverages/blitzes in preseason play. They are holding things back and keeping it as basic as possible.

Most importantly, passing off the play-calling would be extremely unfair to Thomas Brown. You're two games into a 17-game season and just because things look stale through eight quarters of football, you don't put that type of responsibility on someone who doesn't have the experience of navigating through the struggles. This is Frank's issue to solve. Not Thomas's.

You can follow us for future coverage by liking us on Facebook & following us on X:

Facebook - @PanthersOnSI

X - @AllPanthers_ and Schuyler Callihan at @Callihan_.