According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Patriots have already interviewed Chicago Bears offensive coordinator and interim head coach Thomas Brown for the offensive coordinator role under Vrabel.

Brown, 38, entered the NFL as a running back selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL draft out of Georgia. He spent one year in Atlanta and two with the Cleveland Browns before retiring and transitioning to coaching.

The former Bulldog started his coaching career in college at his alma mater in 2011 and jumped to the NFL in 2020 as the running backs coach for the Los Angeles Rams.

Brown served as the Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator in 2023 and has served in the same role for the Bears since Shane Waldron’s firing in November. He then took on the interim head coach tag just two weeks later when they fired Matt Eberflus.