As a losing streak threatens to derail the Bears’ season, they’re making a significant change. Matt Eberflus‘ comments regarding the state of his team will result in a play-caller change.
The team is firing OC Shane Waldron, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports. Hired to switch Luke Getsy in April, Waldron is finished after just nine games. Pass-game coordinator Thomas Brown is predicted to take the reins. This concludes a steep freefall for Waldron, who spent the previous three seasons because the Seahawks’ OC. The team has announced the move and Brown’s promotion to OC.
Losing three straight, the Bears haven’t scored a touchdown of their past two games. The team has gone 23 straight possessions and not using a TD; at 277.7 yards per game, Chicago’s offense sits thirtieth on the midpoint. Chicago’s offense also sits thirtieth in DVOA. With the team making a hopeful trajectory-shifting investment in Caleb Williams in April, this season brought high stakes. Waldron will probably be the primary domino to fall, with Eberflus almost definitely on the new seat as well.
“After evaluating our entire operation, I made a decision that it’s in the perfect interest of our team to maneuver in a unique direction with the leadership of our offense. This decision was well-thought-out, one which was conducted deliberately and respectfully,” Eberflus said. “I would really like to thank Shane for his efforts and want him the perfect moving forward.”
Given the Bears’ listless performance against the Patriots, this shouldn’t be exactly a surprising decision. Though, Waldron got here to Chicago after interviewing with multiple teams. The previous Seahawks and Rams assistant met concerning the Patriots and Saints’ OC vacancies. The Bears pulled the trigger quickly, nonetheless, hiring Waldron shortly after Pete Carroll‘s dismissal prompted the Seahawks to let his assistants seek employment elsewhere.
Each of Chicago’s past two OCs at the moment are out of a job, with Waldron’s firing coming barely per week after the Raiders axed Getsy. Waldron, nonetheless, had considerably more to work with than what Getsy was handed in Las Vegas. But Williams has struggled as of late — whilst the Bears have their top three wide receivers healthy. Although Chicago’s O-line has run into injury- and performance-related trouble, Williams has not built on some early-season promise.
Williams’ 38.4 QBR ranks barely above Gardner Minshew‘s for twenty ninth within the league (amongst qualified options). The Bears didn’t strongly consider Jayden Daniels at No. 1 overall, viewing a transparent gap between Williams and the sector amongst this yr’s QB crop. However the No. 1 overall pick is averaging just 6.1 yards per attempt and has taken an NFL-high 38 sacks. That’s familiar territory for the Bears, who ditched sack-prone QB Justin Fields weeks after they learned they’d have Williams access (via the 2023 Bryce Young trade) atop the draft.
The Bears played without tackle starters Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright against the Pats, and eight-figure-per-year guard Nate Davis has been a bust at guard, quickly drifting to healthy-scratch status. The Patriots sacked Williams nine times in an embarrassing 19-3 result for the Bears, who lost 29-9 to the Cardinals in Week 9. That Arizona outing, after all, got here after Daniels’ heave bailed out Washington in what up to now looks like a season-defining loss for Chicago. Waldron calling a goal-line handoff to backup O-lineman Doug Kramer, resulting in a costly fumble, brought considerable scrutiny within the aftermath.
Monday meetings included a scenario wherein Waldron would follow Nathaniel Hackett‘s path by accepting a demotion, Pelissero adds, but as a substitute he received walking papers like Getsy. Given the turnover after Getsy’s January ouster, the Chicago Tribune’s Dan Wiederer notes that is the eighth Bears staffer to be fired or resign since September 2023. This may give Brown a second likelihood as a play-caller.
The Bears interviewed Brown for his or her OC post in January, doing so despite the previous Sean McVay assistant being tied to Young’s woeful rookie yr with the Panthers. (Chicago also interviewed Kliff Kingsbury, Williams’ 2023 QBs coach at USC, but went with Waldron.) Brown spent much of last season as Carolina’s play-caller, taking on after David Tepper fired Frank Reich 11 games in. While the Panthers retained DC Ejiro Evero, Brown was not within the organization’s plans.
Reich gave Brown play-calling duties early last season but reclaimed the decision sheet soon after. Brown, nonetheless, moved back into that role after the HC’s firing. The Panthers ranked thirty first in points scored and thirty second in total offense last season, as they tried to mix Reich’s offense with Brown’s Rams concepts. Brown, 38, had moved to Charlotte after receiving HC interest.
A preferred OC candidate in 2023 as well, Brown also interviewed for the Texans’ HC job last yr and the Titans’ HC post this offseason. The Pats and Steelers also met with Brown about their OC openings. This firing can even make Brown the NFL’s only Black play-caller presently. Waldron and Brown worked together in Los Angeles in 2020, before the previous took the Seattle gig. Waldron was on the helm for Geno Smith‘s Comeback Player of the 12 months season, though QBs coach Dave Canales received loads of credit for that. Nevertheless, this may mark Waldron’s first firing during his NFL coaching tenure.
Brown takes over as perennial 1,000-yard wideout D.J. Moore sits on just 398 yards; trade pickup Keenan Allen has not moved the needle, either, amassing just 241 in seven games. Williams not making a noticeable second-half leap will probably end in Eberflus’ ouster. The Bears are more likely to offer GM Ryan Poles a second likelihood, not necessarily attaching the front office boss to Eberflus, who was hired just two days after Poles. As ownership and team president Kevin Warren will evaluate Eberflus, Brown will suddenly play a lead role in determining if the Bears will stay the course.
