LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Thomas Brown acknowledged during his first press conference as Bears offensive coordinator that he isn’t going to revolutionize the team’s scheme. He’s not going to burn the old playbook and write another one.

“When it comes to where we are in the season, you can’t reinvent the wheel,” Brown said. “I’m not going to try and do that at all. That would be kind of setting us in a spiral going backward in my opinion.”

Head coach Matt Eberflus believes that Brown can still make significant changes. So do several Bears offensive players. So does the new play caller himself, with the tools at his disposal.

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The search for creativity, to borrow Eberflus’ term, will be paramount for the Bears to pull out of their nosedive.

That doesn’t necessarily mean exotic designs. It’s more about finding ways to get guys open and into the space required to make plays.

“From a creativity standpoint, I think Thomas can bring new thoughts, new ideas of what we can do,” tight end Cole Kmet said. “Philosophically, he can maybe do different things as well.

“…I think this week, with Thomas as the head of the offense, it provides a bit of a reset and a fresh perspective. It can provide a spark for us going forward.”

That’s the goal after scoring just 27 points over three games and not crossing the goal line in eight consecutive quarters.

“Definitely, we needed something,” Kmet said. “I think Thomas is ready to give that to us. We’re excited for the week ahead with him, for sure.”

Brown stood before the team on Wednesday and discussed his approach to practice, calling games and fixing problems. He’s direct, with no frills. He demands accountability and that things are done just right.

He told the players that attitude and effort are under their complete control, and that will lead to being deliberate and focused on the details required to perform well.

“How we approach the meetings, being detailed, being locked in and transferring that to the actual practice field, being intentional about the walkthrough, but also making practice as hard as humanly possible so the game can somewhat become easier,” Brown said. “So to me, that’s gonna be our focus, that’s what we’re locked in on and so understanding that practice and preparation always leads to game day execution.”

The Bears must execute better on game day to save this season. They’re 4-5 and entering the toughest part of their schedule with a collection of opponents with a .708 winning percentage.

There is no time to waste, though, with Chicago’s teetering on the brink. Brown isn’t going to triage and throw band-aids on flesh wounds. All of his efforts are focusing on permanently righting the ship.

“I’m not really looking into quick fixes. I want long term solutions to kind of get us going in the right direction,” Brown said. “The goal, again, is to have success and have success immediately. I’m not doing anything to be a loser or have a loser’s mentality. My players don’t either. Those guys are focused, they’re excited. Again, we’re all in this thing together, so we’re rocking and rolling, getting ready for practice.” 

While the offense hasn’t been good in a few weeks, there’s plenty of tape out there showing quality Bears production. Brown’s work isn’t on getting back to serviceable. It’s about finding the rhythm that produced two straight games with 30-plus points, with some innovative ideas that can counter what defenses have recently been throwing at them.

“I thought we found a good rhythm – I go back to London and the games prior to that, where we found a good rhythm and the whole no huddle type of stuff, but teams in this league catch up quickly with some stuff and we had to take the next step forward with what we were doing,” Kmet said. “I think Thomas can help us there.”

Brown is already laying the foundation for future success, which is found in the mundane and the relentless pursuit of better.

“I put no limitations on our success at all,” Brown said. “The goal is to not focus as much on being perfect but chasing excellence every single day.  So that’s our goal, that’s our focus to prepare the right way to go play in the game the right way.”