Reich Reveals Why Now Is the 'Right Time' to Hand Offense Over to Thomas Brown

Monday morning, Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich officially handed over the offensive play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Thomas Brown. This afternoon, he answered questions during his weekly press conference regarding the move. Here is everything he said about the decision and the timing of it.

Handing over the offensive play calls to Thomas Brown

"It's always been a part of the plan. It's something Thomas and I discussed from the time that he was hired. I'm excited for Thomas. I'm excited for our team and our offense. Thomas is a stud. He's a great leader. He's a brilliant offensive mind. We all have a lot of confidence in him and the timing is right. Thought that his bye week was going to be a checkpoint and really been thinking hard about it the last couple weeks and kind of knew it was leaning this way. I'm excited to turn that over to Thomas and I know he's going to do a great job for our team."

The timing of handing over the play-calling duties

'With the bye, you get those two weeks where you regroup, you do all this self-scout stuff right now and see what our tendencies are, what we want to do to tweak things, and now I'm kind of adding that into the mix. So I think this is a good thing."

If the change would have been made if the team wasn't 0-6

"I believe I would have. I really do. I go back to the interview process with Mr. Tepper when he asked me what would be the intentions. We talked through all the different scenarios depending on who the coordinators were. So when I hired Thomas, I knew it was probably going to happen fast but I needed to get in-season and see it all play out. I'd like to think this is the best decision no matter what our record is."

What makes Thomas special

"Thomas is made to do this. He's a great football mind. He has the strongest leadership qualities you could ask for in a coach, so I can't emphasize how excited I am for Thomas. I think there is a reason why at his age he has ascended to this position so quickly. You just get around him for five minutes and you know."

How the conversation went when he told Thomas

"Let's just say he was very happy about the conversation. He was ready. And I told him two weeks ago that hey, get ready, this is what I'm thinking. I hinted. I didn't promise because it's the NFL. Things change. But I hinted a couple week ago the bye would be the right time. I know he's ready."

What went wrong with Frank Reich calling the plays

"I think we've been moving in the right direction. I don't think this is a reactionary move. I think many of us feel like on offense we're starting to hit a rhythm, Bryce is starting to hit a rhythm and feel confident. That gives me more joy. This is not a reactionary move. This is just all part of the plan and to help us take the next step and for me to be a better head coach."

How the offense will be different

"I don't think it's going to change dramatically. We're not going to install a new system. But listen, everybody's got their own personality, and how you call the game, that'll show."

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