The Chicago Bears fired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy after their 2023-24 season came to an end. The Bears finished with a record of 7-9, more than doubling their win total from the season before. But at the end of it all, the offense barely saw much improvement, even with the addition of wide receiver DJ Moore.
Going into "Black Monday," the day after the NFL season where we see most of the coach firings, many speculated the Bears might clean house and start fresh with a new coaching staff and the number one overall pick in the upcoming draft. But the Bears decided to stick with Matt Eberflus as head coach and just replace the offensive and defensive coordinators, plus some supporting staff.
Now, it is reported that Shane Waldron will be the new offensive coordinator in Chicago, leaving the Seattle Seahawks where he spent the last 3 seasons as their offensive coordinator.
We still do not know what the Bears' intentions are at the quarterback position. They could keep Justin Fields, trade down from the number one pick, and use the capital to give Fields more of a supporting cast around him. They could trade Fields and use the top pick to draft a quarterback, like Caleb Williams or Drake Maye. They could even keep Fields while still drafting a quarterback first overall and have one of the most chaotic competitions we've seen.
There is still a lot of unknown, but we do know who will be coaching the offense now. Here's three things we know about Waldron that will help the Bears move forward.
Shane Waldron Coached Under Sean McVay.
Waldron, who worked with the Los Angeles Rams for 4 seasons, is one of the few coaches the Bears interviewed that have worked under current Rams head coach Sean McVay. McVay is known as one of the best offensive minds in football today - leading the Rams to a Super Bowl appearance in the 2018-19 season and winning the Lombardi Trophy in 2021-22.
Under McVay in Los Angeles, Waldron was a passing game coordinator and worked exclusively with tight ends and quarterbacks. He worked with quarterback Jared Goff, who is now the quarterback for the Detroit Lions, who are on their way to their first NFC Championship game in over 30 years. Waldron's work with Goff and the Rams led him to get the call from Seattle to be the offensive coordinator and play-caller for the Seahawks.
The Bears are in desperate need of a rejuvenation in their offense. The creators of the forward pass in football are still the only franchise in the NFL who have never had a quarterback pass for 4,000 yards in a single season. With the stops Waldron has made in football and the coaches and offensive minds he's crossed paths with along the way, the hope is he can bring Chicago something they've never seen before.
Waldron's Work with Geno Smith Brought Life to the Seahawks
Quarterback Geno Smith was drafted by the New York Jets in the 2nd round of the 2013 NFL draft. After his time with the Jets, he also played with the New York Giants and Los Angeles Chargers. He came to the Seahawks in 2020 to serve as the backup to Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson. He was just supposed to be a journeyman backup who never lived up to his pre-draft hype.
But after Wilson was traded to the Denver Broncos in 2022, Smith was given the keys to the Seahawks' offense.
Waldron has been Smith's offensive coordinator for the 2 seasons he has been the starter in Seattle. In 2022-23, while leading the Seahawks to a Wild Card berth, Smith was named AP's Comeback Player of the Year and finished 9th in the Most Valuable Player voting.
He also threw for over 4,000 yards that year, something you now know Chicago has never seen a Bears quarterback accomplish.
What Waldron did for Seattle after they moved on from their franchise quarterback is something a lot of the league would hope could happen to their teams.
If Waldron can bring that out of Smith and bring Smith's career back to life, build an offense around Smith's skill sets to keep the Seahawks in games and playoff contention, one would think the same fate is possible for either Fields or a quarterback drafted 1st overall.
Waldron is a QB Collective Guy.
QB Collective is a series of camps hosted by offensive experts and coached by some of the best NFL offensive minded coaches.
Waldron and McVay are both a part of this organization, along with notable head coaches Kyle Shanahan (San Francisco 49ers), Mike McDaniel (Miami Dolphins), and Matt LeFleur (Green Bay Packers).
This is something of note because current Bears quarterback Justin Fields was a part of this camp. Additionally, projected 1st overall pick in the upcoming draft Caleb Williams is reportedly going to work with QB Collective.
Caleb Williams is working with @QBCollective for training. New Bears OC Shane Waldron is a QB Collective guy. You do the math here.
— Hayden Winks (@HaydenWinks) January 22, 2024
It seems that no matter what direction the Bears take between keeping Fields and drafting Williams, the Waldron hire puts them in a good position. He will have at least a base relationship with both quarterbacks from working with them at this camp, and he will have references on both quarterbacks from some of the greatest minds in football who work with him at these camps.
This offseason has seen and will continue to see a lot of big names available for hire in the NFL. The Bears chose to stick with their general manager and head coach despite these opportunities. They obviously have confidence in what they're doing and have a plan moving forward. Here's to hoping Waldron is everything that plan needs, and more.
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