Thomas Brown defends late four-down decisions: I wasn’t confused, just changed my mind

Thomas Brown became interim coach of the Bears when Matt Eberflus was fired following disastrous game management decisions following a loss at Chicago. On Thursday night, Brown made some questionable decisions of his own on the Bears’ final drive.

Trailing 6-3 with 2:14 left in the fourth quarter, the Bears went for it but were warned for a false start. That led to a fourth and fifth strike, and Brown sent the punting team out. But then Brown called a timeout and sent the offense back down the field to convert the first down.

The Bears got the first down, but calling a timeout late in a close game is never a good idea for a head coach. Brown was asked after the game why there was confusion among the Bears about whether to punt or attempt.

“It wasn’t a confusion at all, I just changed my mind,” Brown said. “I changed my mind and said, ‘Let’s get going now,’ and sent the offense back to the field.”

Whether it was confusion or he changed his mind, the result was that Brown missed a timeout at a time in the game when the Bears should have called their timeouts.

The good news for the Bears was that they converted on fourth and fifth after sending the offense back down the field and then moving into wide field goal range at the Seahawks’ 40-yard line. Unfortunately, the Bears wasted another timeout after an incomplete pass while the clock was stopped. Brown said he just wanted to get the right play call.

“Just having cleaner communication, getting out of the huddle and getting the ball quicker,” Brown said. “We didn’t want to waste any games. From a delay of game perspective, there was a timeout, so that was the actual reason for the timeout.”

The Bears’ drive ended with four consecutive passes after the ball reached the 40-yard line. The last of those was intercepted on fourth down, ending the Bears’ chances. Brown was asked why he didn’t trust his kicker to make a 58-yard field goal, but he said he believed the long end of field goal range was a 52- to 55-yard field goal so he had to try it.

Brown was also asked why the Bears didn’t run the ball to get a few more yards into field goal range, and he said his play call was based on the way the Seahawks played zero coverage.

Brown’s answers didn’t exactly inspire confidence that he understands how to properly handle a late-game situation like a head coach must. The Bears will soon be looking for a head coach who can do what neither Eberflus nor Brown could and put Caleb Williams in a better position to win in those situations.