Thomas Brown's first comments as Chicago Bears HC confirm locker room was fractured

For the first time since being named interim head coach of the Chicago Bears, Thomas Brown spoke with reporters.

Following a week where there was more confirmation of how splintered the Bears' locker room was after the team's loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving, Brown was very direct about his first goalas the team's head coach.

Since the start of the Bears' current six-game losing streak, there have been hints about how fractured the team's locker room was. Whether it was questions over how Eberflus handled the closing moments of the Hail Mary loss to the Washington Commanders, the handling of Shane Waldron's firing, or Eberflus not calling a timeout against the Lions last Thursday, it was clear that the former head coach no longer had control of the team's locker room.

Dysfunction has been the theme of the Bears for much of the past two months. While Eberflus was saying one thing during his weekly press conferences, players were often saying opposite things during their weekly hits on various radio stations.

Looking past the continued development of Caleb Williams, unifying the football team is the clearest way for how Brown can strengthen his candidacy to be the next permanent Bears' head coach. It was that approach that saw improvement from the team's offense when Brown replaced Shane Waldron as the team's offensive coordinator last month. Now, Brown will need to have that message shared across the entire team.

Going back to Williams, Brown's promotion to being the Bears' head coach means the rookie quarterback is now on his third offensive coordinator. Among other topics addressed on Monday, Brown announced that Chris Beatty will serve as the Bears' offensive coordinator moving forward. Beatty was previously the wide receivers coach for the Bears this season. Brown will remain the offensive play-caller. Defensive coordinator Eric Washington will now call the defensive plays for the Bears.