Bears' Interim Coach Makes Shocking Reveal Before 1st Game
The Chicago Bears' Week 14 clash with the San Francisco 49ers will be a monumental moment for Thomas Brown.
After all, Sunday's showdown will mark Brown's first game behind the Bears bench since taking over for the recently fired Matt Eberflus last week. The 38-year-old interim coach was an assistant head coach with the LA Rams in 2021 and 2022, however, this is the first time that he's leading a football team on his own.
When it comes to starting a new job, changes are all a part of the process. On Thursday, Brown proved that NFL coaches aren't an exception with the revelation of a shocking physical change.
Bears News: Thomas Brown Reveals Major Weight Loss
Following Thursday's practice, Brown revealed that he's lost a considerable amount of weight in the last few months. According to ESPN's Courtney Cronin, the Bears' new bench boss began a "weight loss journey" back in the middle of November and the weight has been falling off ever since.
Brown's initially weighed in at 225 lbs but clocked in at 203 lbs on Thursday morning — a 22-pound difference.
While Brown's transformation is impressive, reporters at the press conference wanted to know how he shed all the weight. When asked if it had anything to do with stress (which is a part of the NFL coaching life), the former running back said that wasn't a factor in the weight loss.
"I'm not really stressed," Brown replied, per NFL insider Ari Meirov. "What I realized is that if you increase (the number of) tasks to your day, you forget about food. I went a couple of days and didn't really eat, didn't really think about it."
"I was thinking about the next moment... Doing game planning and then I look up and I'm almost 30 lbs down. We'll keep going and see how long it lasts."
Brown jokingly added that he "might write a book one day" about how he lost his weight. If being an NFL coach doesn't pan out, he's hoping that the Chicago-area reporters will support his backup career as an author.
"I hope you guys buy it," Brown said about his hypothetical weight loss book. "I'll probably be pretty pissed if you don't buy it, so."
Any plans of becoming an author will have to wait, though, as Brown prepares to make his professional coaching debut on Sunday. The Tucker, GA native has worked on benches all around college football and the NFL since 2011 and this weekend will finally be the culmination of all his hard work.
While the 49ers aren't typically the most ideal debut opponent, Kyle Shanahan's team is in a vulnerable spot right now. San Francisco has lost three straight games by an average of 18.7 points, meaning the door is open for Brown to begin his coaching career with a victory.
Nevertheless, Chicago still can't afford to underestimate the home team in Week 14. FanDuel Sportsbook is currently listing the Bears as the 3.5-point underdogs to the 49ers in a game that's favored to feature Under 44.5 total points.
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