Thomas Brown’s departure from the Gamecocks is official
Thomas Brown, former South Carolina running backs, officially joined the Los Angeles Rams in the same capacity, the NFL team announced Wednesday.
Brown coached at USC for one season. His move comes after a year where he gave a boost to South Carolina’s running back room, which saw four of the top five tailbacks average at least 5 yards a carry. He was also key in recruiting MarShawn Lloyd, a four-star back and one of the top players in USC’s class of 2020.
Earlier this offseason, he was rewarded with a raise from $300,000 to $500,000, as head coach Will Muschamp sacrificed his annual raise to pay Brown more.
Brown previously coached at Miami, Georgia and Wisconsin, as well as Marshall and Chattanooga. He is considered a rising star in the profession after a collegiate playing career at Georgia and three years in the NFL.
Brown and defensive line coach John Scott Jr. left the Gamecocks in the last week. Scott took the same position at Penn State under head coach James Franklin.
Tennessee Vols defensive line coach Tracy Rocker will be tabbed to replace Scott, according to multiple reports. Muschamp has interviewed several candidates to fill the running backs coach role, according to reports.
USC has yet to publicly acknowledge any of the assistants’ departures or any new hires. The school’s official football staff page Wednesday still listed Scott and Brown as being part of the staff.
Scott and Brown’s departures mean yet more coaching staff moves in an offseason full of them for South Carolina — immediately after the end of a disappointing 4-8 season, Muschamp demoted offensive coordinator Bryan McClendon and let go quarterbacks coach Dan Werner.
To fill both those positions, Muschamp hired former Colorado State head coach and Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. One of Bobo’s former assistants, Joe Cox, followed him to USC to become the Gamecocks’ tight end coach. As a result, last year’s tight ends coach, Bobby Bentley, shifted to the quarterbacks room, and assistant Kyle Krantz was demoted to an off-field role.
Then special teams coordinator/linebackers coach Coleman Hutzler left to become co-defensive coordinator at Texas, and Krantz was re-promoted to special teams coordinator/assistant defensive backs coach, while Muschamp himself shifted from his usual role coaching the secondary to oversee the inside linebackers.
Off the field, strength and conditioning coach Jeff Dillman was also let go after the season ended and replaced by Paul Jackson, who held the same role at Ole Miss.
Spring practice will start Feb. 26. The 2020 spring game will be April 4 at Williams-Brice Stadium.
This story was originally published February 12, 2020 at 2:55 PM.
