Miami Dolphins coaching search: 5 things to know about candidate Thomas Brown

When the Chargers needed a head coach prior to last season, they plucked a young up-and-comer from Sean McVay's Rams staff.

Brandon Staley was the Rams' defensive coordinator who impressed Chargers leadership with his bold ideas, strong communication and work ethic.

This year, a young offensive coach of a similar age has been identified as a hot, fast-rising coaching candidate. It's Rams assistant head coach and running backs coach Thomas Brown, who is scheduled to interview with the Dolphins.

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Brown, a former running back in the SEC and the NFL, has also been an offensive coordinator at Miami, under mentor Mark Richt.

Could the Dolphins go with a bright, young mind to succeed Brian Flores? Could Miami be ahead of the curve and strike a deal with Brown, considered a potential star?

Here are five things to know about Thomas Brown:

Brown was raised in Georgia

Thomas Brown, 35, was raised in Tucker, Georgia, which is just outside of Atlanta.

Brown attended the University of Georgia, where he finished his career as the fifth-leading rusher in Georgia history, with 2,646 career yards.

As a Bulldog, Brown averaged 5.0 yards per carry, scored 25 touchdowns and was named a team captain in 2007.

As a junior, Brown tore an anterior cruciate ligament, but returned by the following spring. Brown brought speed and power, though he stood only 5-foot-8, 200 pounds.

"I don't know what makes him tick the way he does," Richt told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2007. "It's like he's got to prove something. He's got this determination and mental toughness that is probably unmatched on our team since he has been here. I can't think of anybody tougher than him. He thrives on people saying you can't do it. I do believe the guy is better than he was a year ago."

Brown is now married with three boys.

NFL gives way to coaching

Brown was a sixth-round pick of the Falcons in 2008. During a preseason game, Brown tore his groin and was placed on injured reserve.

Brown was waived prior to the 2019 season. He spent the next season with Cleveland, but decided to retire to pursue coaching opportunities.

Brown returned to Georgia as an assistant strength and conditioning coach. But he would quickly rise the ranks with one-year stints as running backs coach at Chattanooga, Marshall, Wisconsin and Georgia.

At Wisconsin, Brown coached Heisman runner-up Melvin Gordon. He worked under coach Gary Andersen, who felt he would relate well to players.

“That’s what Thomas showed me," Andersen said. "I had him walk through how he goes through the recruiting process and how he builds those relationships. People have to trust you with their kids."

Brown told Wisconsin's in-house web site: "I’d be a hypocrite to tell certain guys that they can’t be successful and play the position when I was a 5-8, 180-pound guy coming out of high school. Toughness is one thing I look for in guys when it comes to recruiting. You can’t coach a guy to be tough. He either has got it, or he doesn’t."

After returning to Georgia, Brown worked with star Nick Chubb.

University of Miami experience

Brown spent three season at Miami as offensive coordinator and running backs coach.

Under Brown's tutelage, Travis Homer was named second-team All-ACC and Mark Walton rushed for more than 1,000 yards, as he was named All-ACC.

Brown blossomed under the leadership of Richt, who called plays.

“I’m going to organize everything else from the offensive coordinator’s standpoint and obviously from an install concept," Brown explained then. "I’m going to introduce those concepts to the players and be able to coach it that way."

In 2018, Brown showed how he can be very direct in criticism.

"Right now, we have too many third-party guys who are not leaders and not following and we got to either get rid of those guys or get them on board to help this whole team win," Brown said then, suggesting such behavior can spread like “a cancer.”

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Working with Sean McVay

Rams coach Sean McVay hired Brown away from South Carolina, where he worked under Will Muschamp for one season.

When South Carolina played Georgia, Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart told the Athens Banner-Herald what he recalled about Brown.

"Thomas was one of the hardest working players we had in that room, a really good room of running backs," Smart said. "He came to work every day, extremely physical, explosive for his size. He was just a great leader, a great person and he continues to be that way as a coach."

Before this season, McVay promoted Brown, who he sees a rising star in football coaching.

“I lean on him in a lot of ways,” McVay said, according to the Associated Press. “He’s just got a great feel for people. He’s got a great pulse of the team, and he’s one of those guys that I can always trust is going to be able to give me valuable information. When you meet certain people, they’re refreshingly secure, just comfortable in their own skin. That’s exactly how he’s always been from the time that we’ve been working together.”

Communication and collaboration

Brown holds a degree from Georgia in speech communication.

Coaches and players say he's a strong communicator.

"He's just got a presence, you know?" McVay said, according to the Los Angeles Times. "There are certain people that kind of have that 'it' factor and he's certainly one of those guys."

Brown coached Malcolm Brown, now with the Dolphins, in Los Angeles.

"He's a guy who's brought some intensity," Malcolm Brown said, "and he knows his stuff."

Brown has been heavily influenced by time spent around Richt and McVay. But he wants it to be clear he won't try to replicate the exact approach of any one other coach.

“I think too often, many guys in the coaching profession try to emulate the guy they learned the most from,” Brown said, via the Associated Press. “To me, that’s the difference between learning from guys and being yourself. I’ve learned from a lot of people, but I’m going to be myself until the day I die.”

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Thomas Brown: 5 things to know about Miami Dolphins coach candidate