Bears fire Shane Waldron: How important is this for Matt Eberflus and Caleb Williams?

When Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus stepped behind the lectern in the Halas Hall media room on Monday, he was on defense. He had already gone crazy and gone viral on social media.

“Coach, your cell phone is as bad as the offense right now,” ESPN 1000 radio host David Kaplan said as Eberflus’ phone connection was disconnected for the third time during his weekly interview on the team’s flagship station.

Eberflus never returned to finish the interview while Kaplan’s comment spread on social media. Eberflus also had no decisions to share on the radio or later during his press conference in Halas Hall.

But everyone knew what was coming.

The Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on Tuesday morning and replaced him with Thomas Brown, the team’s passing game coordinator.

The move itself is anything but surprising. According to Pro Football Reference, among qualified quarterbacks, rookie quarterback Caleb Williams ranks 28th in traditional passer rating, 30th in QBR, 32nd in completion rate, 33rd in sack rate and 30th . Place in adjusted net yards per attempt.

Something had to be done. Someone had to go. Firing Waldron is the obvious move, but there are so many layers. Let’s discuss.

Adam Jahns: Fish, I want to start with this. It’s fitting that this all happens the week the Bears play the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field. I can already hear the boos. The Packers have more time to prepare for Sunday after their bye week, while the Bears fired their offensive coordinator after nine games and seemingly wasted a day of game preparation on “the process” that Eberflus couldn’t stop talking about on Monday. The Bears had to fire Waldron, but Brown isn’t exactly in an enviable position.

Kevin Fishbain: Luckily for Brown, is there anything worse than scoring three points against the last-place Patriots? Score zero points against the Packers? We keep hearing that this is a cutthroat business, but sometimes the bears are too nice and I wonder if this is an example of that and if it is to their detriment. That’s not what Eberflus wanted. In addition, general manager Ryan Poles, Eberflus and Waldron all share an agent. I’m sure they’ve worked to find a solution, but this is a historically bad offense with a historically – in Bears terms – talented group of players. Something had to change. Brown is highly regarded. He seems like the type of person who would always be prepared for something like this, and I imagine his experience in Carolina helped with that.

New Bears offensive coordinator Thomas Brown found himself in a similar situation last season with Bryce Young and the Panthers. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Jahns: And that was really an experience! Brown left the Los Angeles Rams last season to become the offensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers, of course, took quarterback Bryce Young with the first pick they received from the Bears. The whole season was a disaster. Brown took over the management of the game from former coach Frank Reich during the season before Reich took it back. Reich was ultimately fired after a 1:10 start. Brown certainly learned some hard lessons. He has eight games left to get the offense in order and get Williams back on track with his development. However, the easy part of the Bears’ game plan is over.

Fish tank: Brown has a much better selection of weapons in this offense than he did in Carolina, but the remaining schedule is daunting. Here’s how the next four teams on their schedule rank in opposing passer rating: 12th (Packers), fifth (Vikings), first (Lions) and sixth (49ers). Oh, and the Vikings lead the league in takeaways, followed by the Packers and Lions. The 49ers are ninth. The opposing defense is tougher. The question is: Can Brown’s playmaking and leadership skills help get the best out of the quarterback and receivers around him?

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Jahns: However, here lies the problem. What lies ahead is more than just the development of Williams or the development of wide receivers DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and rookie Rome Odunze. Eberflus is hanging by a thread here. In a sense, Brown is now training to save Eberflus’ job. That’s not an exaggeration. There were too many signs of discord to ignore. Experienced players should be upset. You should want change. Firing Waldron is just part of it. Brown is Eberflus’ third offensive coordinator in three seasons, not to mention all the personnel changes that occurred during and after last season. Williams could improve under Brown, but the Bears can still lose to better teams. And then everyone will be shown the door after the season.

Fish tank: And then the cycle continues! If the Bears fire this coaching staff, Williams will have three play callers in his first 18 NFL games. It would be the third time in less than a decade that the Bears drafted a quarterback in the first round, only to fire the coach after the season. We’re approaching the worst-case scenario and it’s not fair to bet everything on Brown to solve the problem. It would have to be some sort of miraculous winning streak and high-level performance from Williams that could make the Eberflus bosses forget the moments that led to this point. If Brown makes a big difference in Williams’ development and puts him on the right path to 2025, that would help salvage this season, regardless of the record or future changes.

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Jahns: You’re right that it’s not fair. And I would say that if Williams improves, it will save Brown’s reputation before it saves anyone else’s jobs. He would rise above the chaos the Bears have wrought this season. The Bears hired Waldron instead of Brown, but also hired Kliff Kingsbury, Zac Robinson, Liam Coen and Greg Roman, who were also interviewed and are now coordinating better offenses in the NFL. Brown was also a head coach candidate in previous cycles.

Fish tank: We’ve talked about the Bears entering a worst-case scenario, but this would be the best-case scenario for the final eight games. What if the offense takes off, Williams looks like the No. 1 we saw in London, and Brown is an exciting leader? Is he an option as the next head coach? Does he stick around to name a new head coach (Mike Vrabel, anyone?)? It’s still strange to speak in this regard just 16 days after the Bears were two seconds away from 5-2, but that’s exactly what a three-game losing streak and the firing of the Bears’ first offensive coordinator this season did . Everything is on the table for the Bears’ future and important decisions must be made in the next few months. They did everything they could to ruin what was supposed to be a great situation at quarterback. Now they have to fix it.

Jahns: Starts against the Packers.

(Top photo: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)