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.
