When Bryce Young resumes his rookie season as the quarterback of the Carolina Panthers, the former Alabama All-American will work with a new play-caller.

Panthers coach Frank Reich has handled the play-calling duties through the first six games of the season. When Carolina returns to the field on Oct. 29 against the Houston Texans, offensive coordinator Thomas Brown will call the plays.

“It’s always been part of the plan,” Reich said on Monday, “something Thomas and I have discussed from the time that he was hired. I’m excited for this for Thomas. I’m excited for our team and our offense. Thomas is a stud. He’s a great leader. He’s a brilliant offensive mind. We all have a lot of confidence in him. And I think the timing is right.”

Carolina is the only winless team in the NFL, but Reich said the Panthers’ record didn’t factor into his decision.

“From the beginning of the season, I thought this bye week was going to be a checkpoint,” Reich said, “and really been thinking hard about it the last couple of weeks and knew it was kind of leaning this way. But here we are and excited to turn that over to Thomas and know he’s going to do a great job for our team.”

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Before becoming the Carolina coach this season, Reich had four seasons as an NFL offensive coordinator and five seasons as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. While with the Colts, Reich retained the play-calling duties.

“I just needed to get to the point where I could let it go,” Reich said. “I knew that was going to be hard for me to do, so I had to get comfortable, know our offense was where it needed to be when I turned it over.”

Carolina ranks 23rd among the NFL’s 32 teams in scoring with an average of 18.7 points per game this season. The Panthers also rank 23rd in yards per game and passing yards per game and 22nd in rushing yards per game.

“I think we’ve been moving in the right direction,” Reich said. “I don’t feel like I’m making this as a reactionary move, like, ‘Hey, we just got shut out.’ I think many of us feel on offense we’re starting to hit a rhythm, Bryce is starting to hit a rhythm.”

Young has completed 115-of-182 passes for 967 yards with six touchdowns and four interceptions in five games. The No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft missed one game with an ankle injury.

“It’s a great opportunity working with a young quarterback like Bryce for Thomas and Bryce to kind of take this step together,” Reich said. “That’s a big deal — getting a coordinator and play-caller and a quarterback all on the same page. This is a journey together. You develop a bond and closeness that’s really important in the process.”

Brown joined Reich’s first staff at Carolina after three seasons working with coach Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams. His previous time as an offensive coordinator came as a college assistant with Miami (Fla.) from 2016 through 2018.

During the preseason, Brown handled the play calls in the second half of Carolina’s three games.

“Why I didn’t do it right from the start maybe was because I didn’t know Thomas before this year,” Reich said, “and so it was going to be a question of us kind of working together getting into the season. Obviously because his aptitude is so high and how fast he is as a thinker and on his feet, I knew it was not a question of if, just when.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.