The New England Patriots are back in the AFC Championship game for a record 16th time, as Drake Maye overcame some turnover problems against the mighty Houston Texans defense to throw three touchdown passes and guide his team to a 28-16 victory.
Even though the defense has taken a step from good to great this postseason, the rapid offensive improvement has been the main catalyst between last year's 4-13 mess and this season's 13-win ride to the final four. As such, teams may be interested in poaching some of their coaches.
While the Patriots may be able to hold on to offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels for a long time after his mess of a stint with the Raiders, teams across the league might slowly take some of the better assistants away from McDaniels and Maye in the coming weeks.
Thomas Brown, who serves as the team's passing game coordinator, is scheduled to interview with the Los Angeles Chargers as they try to find a replacement for offensive coordinator Greg Roman. Brown is also being thought of as a head coach candidate for the Arizona Cardinals.
Patriots may lose Thomas Brown as interview for Chargers OC looms
Brown has past experience as a head coach, as he filled in for the fired Matt Eberflus with the Chicago Bears. He won just one game, but he did help Caleb Williams throw 20 touchdowns against six interceptions despite the worst offensive line in the league at the time.
There is a clear difference between the type of offense the Patriots are running this season ad what McDaniels put on display in his two ill-fated seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders, and Brown may have a part in that. After all, he is coming from a few seasons under the watchful eye of Sean McVay.
Losing Brown would be tough for the Patriots, as the available pool of offensive assistants who could slide into a similar role isn't as thick as Mike Vrabel would like. McDaniels' staff outside of Brown doesn't have a ton of experience, which could make Brown's replacement a hire that ultimately ends up backfiring.
Patriots fans would like nothing more than to keep this offensive staff together as is forever as Maye continues to rack up tons of personnel accolades, but with how quickly this team has shot back to contention, it seems hard to imagine a world where Brown doesn't get some sort of elevation.