Rams assistant head coach Thomas Brown to interview with Vikings on Friday

Thomas Brown only arrived to the NFL two years ago as the running backs coach for the Los Angeles Rams, but he could be an offensive coordinator and knocking on the door of a head coaching position any day now. Brown, 35, is expected to be in consideration as the replacement for Kevin O’Connell as the Rams’ next offensive coordinator.

But Brown, who was also promoted to assistant head coach as a replacement for Joe Barry in 2021, is also apparently wanted by O’Connell.

Reports on Thursday indicate that Brown will interview with O’Connell’s new team, the Minnesota Vikings, for a “key role” on Friday. Brown interviewed with the Miami Dolphins for their open head coaching position this year, but that job went to former 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel.

If Brown leaves for the Vikings too, that would make him the fourth notable assistant coach on Sean McVay’s staff to exit after L.A.’s Super Bowl victory: O’Connell is the head coach of the Vikings, Wes Phillips is expected to join him as the offensive coordinator, and secondary coach Ejiro Evero is headed to Denver to become the Broncos’ next defensive coordinator.

The Rams are not likely to lose defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, making him the first person to have that job in back-to-back seasons for the team since Wade Phillips from 2017-2019. Though McVay is the lead voice at offensive coordinator, O’Connell is the only person to have officially held that title with the Rams for more than one season.

McVay will need to make decisions on which coordinator roles he assigns in 2022—will there be a pass game and a run game coordinator, just one coordinator, or no coordinator?—who his tight ends coach is, who his secondary/pass game coordinator is to replace Evero, and potentially who is assistant head coach is going to be.

Prior to joining the Rams in 2020, Thomas Brown started off at Georgia in 2011 as the strength and conditioning coach, before bouncing around over a five-year period to start his career as a running backs coach. He was the offensive coordinator for the University of Miami from 2016-2018, then spent one year at South Carolina in 2019.

Brown was a running back at Georgia from 2004-2007, spending two seasons there with Matthew Stafford as the quarterback.