On Wednesday, Thomas Brown held his first practice as Bears head coach since the team’s firing of former coach Matt Eberflus this past Friday. Brown will have five games to prove to general manager Ryan Poles, team CEO Kevin Warren, and team owner George McCaskey that he deserves a chance to be the team’s head coach after the completion of the 2024 season. Although Chicago has difficult schedule of opponents remaining, the format of the schedule is actually very beneficial to the interim head coach trying to show he can be the Bears’ long-term answer.

Thomas Brown will benefit from already playing several opponents and having ample preparation time

Beginning on Sunday, the Bears’ final five opponents will be the San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks, and Green Bay Packers. What works in Thomas Brown’s favor is that Chicago has already played a majority of the remaining and will have extended time to prepare for a majority of their opponents too. Extended preparation time and having played three divisional opponents is a terrific situation for Brown as three games as offensive coordinator came against the Packers, Vikings, and Lions the last three weeks.

The schedule layout is best for Thomas Brown with his first opponent as head coach in the San Francisco 49ers, given what has transpired for both team over the last week. Chicago will have had ten days off to prepare for San Francisco with their new head coach, while San Fransico played in harsh blizzard-like conditions on Sunday Night across the country in Buffalo. The 49ers were blown out by the Bills by a score of 35-10, while also losing their two top running backs in Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason.

Playing a team that is coming off a difficult cross-country game that played inclement weather, while your team has a had ten days to prepare is almost a perfect scenario for a head coach about to coach his first game. To make matters even better for Thomas Brown, the Bears will have eight days off before their next game which will be on Monday December 16th in Minnesota against the Vikings. Chicago’s new head coach will have 18 days to prepare for two games,

After playing the 49ers on Sunday, the Bears and Brown will have three of their last four games against their divisional opponents who they have already played once this year and are Chicago’s three most recent contests. Before the Packers’ game back on November 17th, Brown was named offensive coordinator and has seen a significant improvement for Chicago’s offense. Over the past three games, Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams has thrown for five touchdowns and has averaged 276 passing yards.

Having seen opponents’ defensive schemes once already, allows Brown to make necessary adjustments on offense to help Williams and the offense be best prepared for how the divisional opponents may try to stop them the second time around. Additionally, it is game-management situations that Thomas Brown can learn from as former head coach Matt Eberflus made several critical-moment mistakes in each contest against the Packers, Vikings, and Lions the last three weeks. Being able to see how certain situations were handled poorly the first time around will allow Thomas Brown to alter his decision making if there is a critical decision needed to be made.

Thomas Brown’s most important game could also be meaningless by the time the contest is played on January 5th

Despite the layout being beneficial, having the remainder of the schedule against teams in playoff contention could result in very difficult games and a potential meaningless game at the end of the season. Chicago will play three consecutive games against opponents after the 49ers game where each opponent will be playing for serious playoff implications. The Vikings and Seahawks will be playing to either improve their chance to win the respective division or secure a wildcard spot while the Lions are battling to not just win the NFC North division, but to lock up homefield advantage and a crucial bye week.

A key opponent for Brown’s chances to remain head coach after the 2024 season will be the Green Bay Packers in the 2024 season finale. Although Chicago will try to beat Green Bay for the first time since 2018, a victory could be meaningless if there is no value for Green Bay to play their starters. There is a very legitimate scenario where the Packers choose not to play a majority of the team’s starters because their playoff standing is secure and decide to save their starters for the following week’s playoff game.

Although a win over the Packers would be massive for Thomas Brown’s chances to be named as a permanent head coach, it could lead to doubt. Poles could be hesitant to have full confidence in Brown if the Bears beat a banged-up 49ers team and a Packers’ team that chose to rest for an upcoming playoff game. Chicago’s head coach on the other hand could secure his long-term future with Chicago if the team records a win that results in Green Bay potentially losing vital seeding or even a potential playoff berth.

Brown’s head coaching tenure will begin on Sunday against the 49ers, as he and his team will have extended time to prepare for their opponent. Given the scheduling spacing, the Bears will have three games where they will have eight or more days to prepare for the opponent in advance. Thomas Brown, if he wants to be Chicago’s head coach in 2025, he must capitalize and make the most of the ideal format for the Bears’ final five games of 2024.

For More Great Chicago Sports Content

Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE