As a losing streak threatens to derail the Bears’ season, they are making a major change. Matt Eberflus‘ comments regarding the state of his team will lead to a play-caller change.
The team is firing OC Shane Waldron, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports. Hired to replace Luke Getsy in April, Waldron is done after just nine games. Pass-game coordinator Thomas Brown is expected to take the reins. This concludes a steep freefall for Waldron, who spent the previous three seasons as the Seahawks’ OC. The team has announced the move and Brown’s promotion to OC.
Losing three straight, the Bears have not scored a touchdown in their past two games. The team has gone 23 straight possessions without a TD; at 277.7 yards per game, Chicago’s offense sits 30th at the midpoint. Chicago’s offense also sits 30th in DVOA. With the team making a hopeful trajectory-shifting investment in Caleb Williams in April, this season brought high stakes. Waldron will be the first domino to fall, with Eberflus almost definitely on the hot seat as well.
“After evaluating our entire operation, I decided that it is in the best interest of our team to move in a different direction with the leadership of our offense. This decision was well-thought-out, one that was conducted deliberately and respectfully,” Eberflus said. “I would like to thank Shane for his efforts and wish him the best moving forward.”
Given the Bears’ listless performance against the Patriots, this is not exactly a surprising decision. Though, Waldron came to Chicago after interviewing with multiple teams. The former Seahawks and Rams assistant met about the Patriots and Saints’ OC vacancies. The Bears pulled the trigger quickly, however, hiring Waldron shortly after Pete Carroll‘s dismissal prompted the Seahawks to let his assistants seek employment elsewhere.
Both of Chicago’s past two OCs are now out of a job, with Waldron’s firing coming barely a week after the Raiders axed Getsy. Waldron, however, had considerably more to work with than what Getsy was handed in Las Vegas. But Williams has struggled as of late — even as 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 29th in the league (among qualified options). The Bears did not strongly consider Jayden Daniels at No. 1 overall, viewing a clear gap between Williams and the field among this year’s QB crop. But the No. 1 overall pick is averaging just 6.1 yards per attempt and has taken an NFL-high 38 sacks. That is familiar territory for the Bears, who ditched sack-prone QB Justin Fields weeks after they learned they would 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, of course, came after Daniels’ heave bailed out Washington in what thus far looks like a season-defining loss for Chicago. Waldron calling a goal-line handoff to backup O-lineman Doug Kramer, leading to a costly fumble, brought considerable scrutiny in the aftermath.
Monday meetings included a scenario in which Waldron would follow Nathaniel Hackett‘s path by accepting a demotion, Pelissero adds, but instead he received walking papers like Getsy. Given the turnover after Getsy’s January ouster, the Chicago Tribune’s Dan Wiederer notes this is the eighth Bears staffer to be fired or resign since September 2023. This will give Brown a second chance as a play-caller.
The Bears interviewed Brown for their OC post in January, doing so despite the former Sean McVay assistant being tied to Young’s woeful rookie year 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 over after David Tepper fired Frank Reich 11 games in. While the Panthers retained DC Ejiro Evero, Brown was not in the organization’s plans.
Reich gave Brown play-calling duties early last season but reclaimed the call sheet soon after. Brown, however, moved back into that role after the HC’s firing. The Panthers ranked 31st in points scored and 32nd in total offense last season, as they tried to blend Reich’s offense with Brown’s Rams concepts. Brown, 38, had moved to Charlotte after receiving HC interest.
A popular OC candidate in 2023 as well, Brown also interviewed for the Texans’ HC job last year and the Titans’ HC post this offseason. The Pats and Steelers also met with Brown about their OC openings. This firing will also make Brown the NFL’s only Black play-caller presently. Waldron and Brown worked together in Los Angeles in 2020, before the former took the Seattle gig. Waldron was at the helm for Geno Smith‘s Comeback Player of the Year season, though QBs coach Dave Canales received plenty of credit for that. Nevertheless, this will 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 result in Eberflus’ ouster. The Bears are more likely to give GM Ryan Poles a second chance, 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.
Should’ve been Eberflop.
Agree
Should have been a no brainer
So you’re firing the guy and then handing his job to an underling. If this is all the thought they put into it then what a failure. I get that the season is going on but how is giving the job to one of his minions going to help? Just let Williams call his own plays. At least he’ll get some experience at that.
What exactly did you want them to do? Have to give it to someone in house don’t you? I also wouldn’t call him and underling of Waldron. He’s part of the McVay tree if anything. Just be glad Waldron is gone and Flus is next.
I want them to do the right thing just ONCE before I die. They should have gone to an outside source to CHANGE the way these people think. Someone to give an honest opinion and different voice. I mean you have Moore who is a consummate pro quitting on plays because he’s running the same stupid route play after play. Hey I hope you’re right and this guy has an honest different philosophy, Because that’s what’s needed here. At least until this off season when they can start over completely. And I hope Williams has confidence in him. Because without that he’s going to end up in the hospital.
Mike… If they went outside that would mean changing the whole offense midseason and would not do any favors for Williams. With the in-house guy they can tweak the existing offense and shake up the play-calling. I mean- Eberflus has already lost the locker room. At this point, it’s about salvaging Williams.
And running the same plays with the same line and the same 7 step drops where the D line is in the backfield before he gets there is working? They’d be better off doing hey you buttonhook, You run towards the guy in the green shirt in the crowd and then cut left and you knock over the referee and wait I’ll hit you after I run around in circles for 30 seconds. The WR’s run the same routes ALL the time. You can set your watch to it. You need to get an O Line and a whole new coaching staff this year. But until then, DIFFERENT is EXACTLY what’s needed. And if I see that WR screen to Moore again this season whoever calls that should be next guy in the bread line. They run it 10 times a game and it still hasn’t worked once.
I’m glad I’m not alone in hating WR screen passes. I think the Bears addiction to that useless play started when they had Trubisky. You might break one for a huge gain once a year. 95% of the time the defense stops it cold and if the ball arrives late it’s an easy pick six for your opponents.
Can’t Eberdummy look in the mirror and scream….YOUR FIRED!!
He is so very out his league….just lost
I am soooo with you brother!! I grew up there. Heartbreaking this.
My dad and I sickeningly keep joking about….”well, why should we print a new playbook, even though the entire NFL has evolved…we still have this one from 1973, why waste the ink?”
Oh good night they piss me off
Could rant on these stone heads for days!
Worked for Bills last year firing Dorsey and promoting Joe Brady.
The big difference is that Brady was previously an OC and had been interviewed for similar positions the year prior. McDermott also wasn’t going anywhere, but this looks like desperation on Eberflus’ part, knowing he’s next.
Let Williams call his own plays? Do any QBs call their own plays anymore?
If you’re about to die a horrible death you should at least be able to call the play that sent you to the cemetery.
They could hire Getsy again I suppose…
He can’t read defenses at all so maybe not a good idea. Almost every play there was a receiver free quickly but he holds it as if he would rather throw for 100 yards then risk an interception .
100% exactly what I would expect this trash organization to do.
It’s not going to make much of a difference when the offensive line allows nine sacks.
True but also need better play design to get the ball out of his hand quicker. And teach him to check down sometimes for the love of god.
His holding the ball led to half those
If there is one thing the Bears are good at, it’s ruining first-round quarterbacks quickly. Mitch T, Fields, and Caleb come to mind in recent history.
Agree
Made time to sign some retreads
Like Aaron Rodgers.
Or even better, Daniel Jones.
Bears didn’t ruin them, they just weren’t good. Mitch and Fields are backups on other teams which is where they should be. Williams isn’t ruined yet.
Nothing is good about the Bears: front office, coaching, roster. There’s a reason they always are drowning.
Firing the OC at this point in the season is a great way to damage Caleb Williams further. What a mess.
Too little, too late. Firing Waldron this early into his first season shows how huge of a blunder it was to keep Eberflus and run it back. Nail on the coffin for this guy after black Monday.
If they move on from Eberflus could this be setting up for Kliff Kingsbury as next HC?
No, more likely they will want to get Belichick or Vrabel since defense seems good but need discipline. Kingsbury is not getting a HC that fast after failing. If they go offense they will look at Johnson or Brady.
Kingsbury will get a job faster than you think. It’s an offensive league and Kingsbury can call plays with the best of them. Big thing he needs is a solid DC and a very reputable Asst HC to handle some of the HC duties.
Kliff Kingsbury has a good thing going in Washington. Anyone who wants an old man from Foxboro is looking at “4-13 Forever”.
In their history Bears have hired 1 head coach with previous head coaching experience. They are not bringing In Vrabel or Belicheck. They always go after coordinators and they don’t want a coach with a big personality.
Because coordinators come cheap!
That’s what I said. But it makes too much sense. Kingsbury knows Williams. Kingsbury knows offense. You’d have to get him a stellar DC but most of the pieces are there on defense so it shouldn’t be hard to find someone good who wants the job. But like I said, It makes perfect sense. A lot of good coaches failed in their first opportunity. Belicheck did alright as I remember. Everyone needs to learn from their mistakes. Except the Bears apparently.
No on Kingsbury. Saw that in Arizona. Good OC. Not a great HC.
You can’t get Kingsbury now unless you offer him a promotion. Only promotion would be HC. Just glad they didn’t hire Harbaugh. Like I said, Poles and Warren should be looking now. Maybe Kirby Smart, Dan Lanning, Not for me to do the research. Kingsbury would be the smart choice. You’ve already wasted one year of Williams. All he’s learned to do this year is take a beating. You need to get him somebody he trusts. Whoever it is. That should be your first Priority. Ben Johnson works but has said he doesn’t want the job but is that a fact or just something he felt he had to say in season? I’d revisit that if i were them.
You are glad they didn’t the best available coach last offseason for a team that’s DYING to win something of importance.
Make it make sense to me. Lol I live in the same city as you, have to hear about how this team fired Lovie after 10-6 and went thru some bad coaches but you are happy they didn’t hire a guy who took a team 5-12 to 6-3 already.
Make it make sense.
BTW the best available candidate is Brian Griese for the HC position. Look at how Purdy has grown into a passer under Griese’s coaching him up. No coincidence. .
I don’t like Cheaters or Jerks. Harbaugh is both. Now his brother on the other hand……..
Jerks = See Mike Ditka
This is the NFL, not everyone needs to be a good guy. Just win baby! Lol
How do you keep watching this trainwreck and still don’t want want Jim H? Who cares if he’s a jerk? He’s already turned around LAC and is one of the best QB coaches in football. Would’ve been perfect for Williams and made sure he had an OL that actually protects the QB! Biggest mistake Bears made this century was NOT going after Jim H and keeping Eberflus. Best you can hope for is a BB/Daboll combo.
I think the issue was Kevin Warren and Harbaugh not liking each other one bit after the whole cancellation of Big 10 season in 2020. I truly believe that there was some sort of beef that allowed them to pivot towards Eberflus.
Merely a conspiracy theory on your part.
Fair enough, guess we’ll never know.
Jim Harbaugh would have been the best coach the bears have had since who knows when..Ditka?
Kingsbury is not a HC. He’s an assistant. Just like Ebeflub is a defensive assistant NOT a HC.
Don’t repeat the same mistake.
Lincoln Riley, groomed Williams n got his best out of em. Sure he would entertain getn off hot seat @usc.
McCarthy should be available this off-season!
Al… HaHa!
The team is such a mess. Time to clean house.
This move had to be made. Zero creativity in the offensive play calling. You have more play makers than you’ve had in years in Swift, Moore, Allen, Odunze, and Kmet, yet they have barely been in the offensive flow. I know you have a banged up O- line but dropping Williams straight back only to be snowed under play after play is lunacy.Screens, roll outs, quick slants. Get creative.
He holds the ball too long .. it’s not the scheme when guys are running open every play
Soon enough whole staff will walk the plank. Tic tok …
I think the team mascot is probably safe…but you never know 🙂
And this wouldn’t be Poles SECOND chance. He didn’t make the FIRST pick yet. If Warren and Poles aren’t compiling and researching coaching candidates right now, Exactly what ARE they waiting for?
The coach isn’t to blame for the line being so awful, 9 sacks allowed is on the players not the coach.
He holds the ball way too long
LOL…Caleb Williams will cost a lot of coaches their jobs.
Football is supposed to be entertainment. We Bears fans simply are forgetting which genre we’re watching…Horror!
Perhaps it’ll turn out to be Comedy horror. Sit back & watch the organization bumble its way through yet another failed QB, season, rebuild, era. Just beware of the 101 yo woman in attic at Soldiers Field.
Nothing lets you know that your guy isn’t the guy like having to fire other people for his mistakes.
CALEB WILLIAMS SUCKS AT FOOTBALL, GO BEARS
The best NFL programs are built with consistency at the GM, HC, and QB positions. Look at SF, KC, DET, GB, and even PHI. CHI won’t have this anytime soon, the HC is a lame duck and no good OC wants to work there. The GM didn’t build a good OL and it shows. You can have all the WRs in the world but if you can’t protect the QB it doesn’t matter. What a mess there
Thomas Brown took over a OC in week 8 with Carolina last year. In 10 games the Panthers surpassed 200 yards passing twice. Waldron was not the problem and has at least a resume of proven experience. The problem is this organization coddling Williams, while he mopes on the bench. While the OL has leaked only half of those sacks are their fault, the rest are on Williams. When it comes to throwing the ball downfield that is on Williams. WRs don’t get wide open in the NFL everything is timing and placement and when to throw away the ball.
Williams is the real problem to me .. he holds the ball forever and takes too many sacks
I think you’re underselling just how horrendous this offensive line has been for the last 5+ years but I agree Williams has a lot of improving to do in a variety of areas. This shouldn’t have been the coaching staff to help get him there though and that’s on Poles (or probably George, but who knows).
The Bears did not only do Williams but the entire team a disservice by sticking with Eberflus as head coach instead of going embracing a full reset after last season.
The argument for keeping Eberflus despite a second straight losing record was that Chicago’s defense played well at the end of last season, helping the team go 5-3 over its final eight games. However, three of those five wins were in games with Bryce Young, Joshua Dobbs and Taylor Heinicke starting at quarterback for the opposing teams.
Now, Eberflus is in job-preservation mode as he looks to his third straight losing season. Williams has to work with a new offensive coordinator during his rookie season, and he might have another new one going into 2025 if the Bears make a change at head coach after this year.
I would have been ok with sticking with Poles going into this season. No doubt he has made mistakes. All GM’s do in any sport. The reality being is Poles didn’t exactly hire Eberflus. McCaskey did. That’s how screwball this organization operates. So, Poles deserves his opportunity to hire a coach. He’ll likely get his chance soon.
Eberflub staying after last year was all about McCaskey. He was never gonna let him go and have to pay for 3 years of his contract- Though that is exactly what was called for. He’s stunk up this franchise for years and never seems to learn.
Eberflus must know he’s next, doesn’t he?
The offensive line is not good.
Good luck to the new OC.
But they have good receivers and linebackers! Poles needs to be fired
Fire the Bozo calling himself an head coach. That’s where the problem lies.
Not the qb?
There goes the first coach fired by Caleb Williams .. he should be quite the coach killer. Maybe it’s not the coach
Caleb has his flaws that they need to work on for sure, but that doesn’t change the fact that the coaching staff has done him no favors this year and the offensive line, for at least what, the fifth year now (?) is near or at the bottom of the league.
Caleb holds the ball sometimes. It’s clear he doesn’t want to make mistakes. He needs to take what’s given to him. But he’s on pace to finish in the top 2 of most sacked rookies all time. There’s no way that’s all on him.
Poles needs to work his ass off to bring in some elite OL talent this offseason. Stanley, Smith, Kelly, perhaps Martin if they miss out on any of the other three. Draft Will Campbell if he falls to them. Draft Tate Ratledge if he falls to the 2nd by some miracle. Whatever happens, they need at least 3 and probably 4 new linemen this offseason, and Poles can’t be dumpster diving, or he’ll be out of a job after next year too.
Not quite understanding all the Williams hate on here. He’s been the worst rookie QB for sure, but he was the consensus top QB in the draft. This is just another example of the organization failing to setup a young player. Hopefully they don’t completely ruin him and get some competent offensive coaching in the building
I dunno, he’s looked pretty lost. The difference between Williams and, say, Nix, is that Nix has a good offensive line and a bona fide playcaller who can minimize his weaknesses by adaptively calling plays. I don’t think that Nix has really been that good, but his weaknesses have been better accounted for than Williams’.
This isn’t really a knock onWaldron-I actually don’t know how much more he could have done with that line and a quarterback who holds the ball too long and doesn’t seem decisive in his reads nor precise under pressure. I mean, he could have done better, certainly, but there were limited tools when the line can’t block and the QB isn’t seeing the field. Williams is a full participant here, and while Eberflus might improve the defense, there isn’t a high level offensive coach to help compensate for Williams’ weaknesses and take advantage of that receiving corps.
Sadly for Williams, it doesn’t look like it’s going to get easier as the season goes on, either. I don’t know what the midseason firing does, other than help Eberflus keep his job for a few more weeks.
I think it’s way too early to make those assessments of Williams. Eberflus has lost the locker room. Poles didn’t get him an o-line. Waldron was guilty of some incredibly stupid play calling. Rookies need stability and consistency. He has none of that. I don’t believe any of the other rookie QBs would be doing any better than Williams in that $hit show.
Problem solved
nice
Wow! As a Panthers fan, I feel sorry for Bears fans. It’s like Panthers history repeating itself. Despite the Bears getting Moore and high draft picks from the Panthers, they now have a coach on the ultra hot seat, an assistant coach who was thrown under the bus and fired, and a struggling quarterback who was projected to be, and may still be, quite an NFL talent. Now, in a bit of irony, you have Thomas Brown who was unsuccessful with the Panthers guiding your offense. The big difference is that the Bears are losing too much with more talent.
That about sums it up.
Agree with everything you said here, but Waldron deserved to go. By some player accounts, he was too nice, wasn’t holding players accountable and was often a series behind on what the defense was doing. He was reacting rather than acting and he was usually late on it. Sometimes they would actually wait all the way until halftime just to make adjustments. His playcalling in key situations, such as 4th downs and in the redzone was also godawful.
Not saying Brown will be any better. He probably won’t be. But Waldron was a bad hire and I heard that from every Seattle fan and analyst willing to give their take on it. I agree he’s kinda taking the blame for stuff that should also be at Flus and Poles doorsteps but by the look of things, their time is coming as well. Flus this offseason for sure, Poles probably after next season if he doesn’t figure out how to field anything resembling an offensive line.
Can’t for the life of me understand how he got this job to begin with.
why nobody ever mentions firing Chris Morgan, the OLine coach that’s been there for 3 years already?
I see more hot takes from talking heads in Chicago and even on national TV lately about Caleb, Flus, Waldron, the organization etc and I swear the most you ever hear about the offensive line is when someone just casually brushes by it while saying “their O-line is a mess” as if it’s just one small part of the many factors going in to the main topic and it’s maddening.
This team’s offensive lines since roughly Trubisky’s second or third year has been at or near the bottom of the league and no one seems to want to talk about just how debilitating that is for any type of offensive plan your coaches want to come up with and your skill players want to execute. Maybe talking about OLines isn’t as sexy as talking about coaches and QBs but FFS the offense is broken because it can’t function.
Aside from all the drastic personnel changes Poles needs to make on the offensive line this offseason, he absolutely needs a new OLine coach. Spare no expense. Find the best mind you can for it. If they need some quality assistants, hire them too.
The O line should have been Poles’ #1 priority (The irony being he WAS an Olineman). Same with the D line, its a saying likely as old as the game itself:’The game is won or lost in the trenches”
Instead Poles used the little draft capital he had to reach on several players and be content with their output, or in some cases, lack of. brings in castoffs from other rosters thinking they will be amazing. Then trades for guys who are destined to be retired or run out the door once their contract is up. Fields was no picnic Ill admit, but at least he could have ran down the field if the opposing D over pressures in the pocket, keeping them ‘honest’. Williams looks a bit lost like he wants to run, but there is someone coaching him to stay back there and try to hit a target.
I would like to see ONE GM come in and say, this rebuild is not going to be sexy, but it will work and that is building both lines and their depth, which makes EVERYONE else look better….
Instead Poles went for the shiny objects and it bit him big time.