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David Newton, ESPN Staff Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Panthers coach Frank Reich is turning over the playcalling for rookie quarterback Bryce Young and the NFL’s only winless team to offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, he confirmed Monday.
Brown becomes the third Black offensive playcaller currently in the NFL, joining Eric Bieniemy of the Commanders and Brian Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Reich said the decision to make the change heading into the 0-6 Panthers’ bye week was 100 percent his and not pushed on him by owner David Tepper.
But Reich has been adamant from the day he took the job he was best suited to call plays for Young, the top pick of the 2023 draft, and had given no indication until now that a change would be this season.
“When I hired Thomas, I knew it was probably going to happen fast, but we needed to get in season and see it all play out,” said Reich, who called the plays for five seasons as the head coach of the Colts and the first six games at Carolina. “I would like to think this is the best decision no matter what our record is.
“Has [Tepper] been involved in discussions? Yeah, I talked to him about all of the things related to this team and how things play out in our weekly discussions. … But this was my decision 100 percent, start to finish.”
Brown, 37, is in his first year as an NFL offensive coordinator. He came to Carolina from the Rams, where he was the assistant head coach in addition to coaching tight ends and running backs the past couple of seasons.
His first game of calling plays in a regular-season game will be an Oct. 29 home game against the Texans after the bye week. He did call plays in the second half of Carolina’s three preseason games, which Reich said helped him become more comfortable with Brown’s abilities.
Brown will take over a unit that ranks 23rd in the NFL in total offense and 22nd in scoring (18.7 PPG), and a quarterback in Young who ranks 32nd in Total QBR at 33.1.
Reich said he has been hinting to Brown to be ready to take over during the bye week.
“I’ve really been thinking hard about it the last couple of weeks and kind of knew it was leaning this way,” Reich said. “Here we are. I’m excited to turn that over to Thomas and I’m sure he’s going to do a great job for our team.”
Reich said he’ll stay involved in the offense, but was adamant he wouldn’t “micromanage Brown” because he knows what that feels like.
“He has a great football mind,” Reich said of Brown. “He has the strongest leadership qualities you could ask for. I can’t emphasize how excited I am for Thomas. He’s, relatively speaking, young. But there is a reason why at his age he has ascended to this position so quickly.”
Reich doesn’t expect the offense to change much under Brown, who put together the playbook with what he learned with the Rams and what Reich has done in the past during the draft process that led Carolina to select Young.
“I’ve wanted to get to this point,” Reich said. “It’s going to make us better. I’ll make me better as a head coach.”
Reich was encouraged by what he saw in Sunday’s 42-21 loss to the Dolphins in which Young led Carolina to a 14-0 first-quarter lead.
“Many of us feel like on offense we’re starting to hit a rhythm, Bryce is starting to hit a rhythm, feel calm,” Reich said. That give me more joy. This is not a reactionary move. This is just all part of the plan.”
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