6 Bears on Thin Ice After Shane Waldron Hiring

The Chicago Bears have themselves a new offensive coordinator. The Luke Getsy experiment is over, and Bears head coach Matt Eberflus is turning to Shane Waldron to run his offense in a critical year for the franchise. Frankly, this is a monumental decision being made by Eberflus and the Bears, and Waldron is a fascinating candidate who has worked in the NFL under the likes of Bill Belichick, Mike Shanahan, Sean McVay, and Pete Carroll.

Most recently, Waldron was the offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks, a role he held from 2021-23, but he's got experience working with quarterbacks of all backgrounds and types.

Anytime you bring in a new offensive coordinator, I think the follow up to that is -- what players are going to be leaving?

And I think the Chicago Bears can expect plenty of change on that side of the ball in terms of personnel. Here are a few players who are either on thin ice or are as good as gone with the arrival of Shane Waldron.

1. Lucas Patrick, C

You could look at any number of players with clear, direct ties to former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and say they are likely gone or treading thin ice. Lucas Patrick has started for the Bears at center over the last two seasons, but those days are firmly in the past at this point.

Shane Waldron has ties to a number of other interior offensive linemen around the league, and I think we'll see the Bears go a new direction at the center position in 2024, whether that's via NFL free agency or the 2024 NFL Draft.