Frank Reich to hand play calling duties over to Thomas Brown

The Panthers head coach is ceding the play calling to his offensive coordinator.

According to Mike Garafalo and other NFL Insiders, Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich informed the team today that he would be handing play calling duties over to offensive coordinator Thomas Brown.

From this interview earlier in the season, it sounds like there was always a plan for Brown to take over play calling duties at some point.

With the team at 0-6 and heading into their bye week, there’s no better time to make the switch. Brown and Reich have an extra week to prepare and get the logistics sorted out, and the offense is in need of a jolt. It’s had its moments, particularly early in games but has consistently faded as the game has gone on. As Mike Kaye alluded to in his mailbag last week, the Panthers could also stand to benefit from the demarcation of responsibilities given some of the operational issues they’ve had offensively, like late play calls and indecision on pivotal 4th down situations.

Brown got some experience calling plays in the preseason. This will be his first stint as a play caller in games that count for something at the NFL level. Hopefully he’s the spark that gets this offense going.