Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich may be a man of God, but he won’t be belting out any gospel hymns with his new offensive coordinator around the campfire anytime soon.
Reich spoke with reporters following Thursday’s session of organized team activities. When asked about his working relationship with Thomas Brown, he said it’s not easy to concede some of the offensive control, but it’s all part of the greater good.
“Yeah, at one level, it’s not easy because . . . it’s your baby,” he replied. “But you understand, ‘Hey, we’re adopting someone. This is gonna make our family bigger and stronger.’ And that’s really the approach we’ve taken. And it has.
“And Thomas makes it easy because I respect his football mind, I respect who he is as a person. The couple disagreements we’ve had—sometimes, ‘Okay, Thomas, you win that one, we’re gonna do it your way.’ Sometimes it’s, ‘You know what? We’re gonna do it the old way.’ And it’s just been a give and take. And I think through that—this isn’t kumbaya, right?—this is like we’re challenging each other.”
Brown, who spent the last three seasons under heralded offensive whiz Sean McVay in Los Angeles, is currently in his first year as a play caller. But that play-calling part is a bit uncertain, at least for now, as Reich has gone on record saying he’ll start out with those duties.
So, much like the offseason work Reich has done with general manager Scott Fitterer and crew, the Panthers are angling for a collaborative effort behind the scenes. But we’ll see if that effort has them singing “Kumbaya, My Lord” when it’s all said and done.
