Bears fire OC Shane Waldron after three-pointer in loss to Pats; Thomas Brown was promoted

Ahead of a home game against the rival Green Bay Packers, head coach Matt Eberflus is hoping this major change can provide some sort of revitalization to the offense.

Waldron was tasked with overseeing the rookie season of No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams. His results were dismal: points were few and the defeat to Williams was overwhelming.

Waldron’s firing came after a 19-3 home loss to the 3-7 New England Patriots on Sunday in which Williams threw for 120 yards, the offense had just 142 total yards and the 2024 top pick was sacked nine times – an NFL Highest value for any game this season.

According to NFL Research, Chicago has not scored a touchdown in two consecutive games, marking the first time since Weeks 8–9 in 1993 that they have allowed six or more sacks in consecutive weeks.

The results in 2024 were terrible, but they also didn’t bode well for the maturation of Williams, who was sacked 38 times – the most for a rookie in his first 10 weeks since the Houston Texans’ David Carr was sacked 49 times in 2002, according to NFL Research.

Waldron has come under fire in recent weeks and after the recent loss, Eberflus said Monday that “everything is on the table.”

In a Bears season that looks promising for the franchise’s future, Chicago has endured some tough times since losing to Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders in a Hail Mary in Week 8, a three-game skid that saw their Offensive went down.

It will no longer be up to Waldron to figure out the Bears’ offensive woes as Chicago throws its own Hail Mary in hopes of turning things around.

Brown assumes the OC role during his first season with the Bears and has experience calling plays in the NFL. The 38-year-old was hired as the Panthers’ OC in 2023 and eventually took over the game management during Frank Reich’s short season as head coach. He previously served as Sean McVay’s associate head coach during the Rams’ Super Bowl-winning season in 2021.