Shane Waldron fired: What’s next for the Bears, Caleb Williams?

It was a snapshot of a relationship that left room for interpretation. Offensive coordinator Shane Waldon appeared to be smiling as he sat on the bench Sunday next to quarterback Caleb Williams, whose frustrated look reflected the Chicago Bears’ offensive woes in their 19-3 loss to the New England Patriots.

Whether seeing conflicting emotions meant the two didn’t see eye to eye became moot Tuesday when the Bears fired Waldron, who was in his first year on the job.

Waldron replaced Luke Getsy – who coincidentally was fired from the same position as the Las Vegas Raiders last week – and his main job was to maximize Williams’ talent, just as he had done with Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, who was named the Las Vegas Raiders Comeback Player of the Year in 2022.

But Waldron saw only sporadic moments of excellence from Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in April, who appeared to be regressing in recent weeks. That responsibility will now fall to Thomas Brown, who was promoted from passing game coordinator to offensive coordinator.

Like Waldron, Brown was one of nine candidates the Bears interviewed for the offensive coordinator position in January. According to coach Matt Eberflus, Brown’s experience in the same role for the Carolina Panthers in 2023, during former No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young’s rookie season, was intriguing.

The Bears chose Waldron over Kliff Kingsbury, whose job at USC as a senior offensive analyst was to prepare Williams for the NFL, and Zac Robinson, who went on to lead the Atlanta Falcons’ offense into a top-five passing unit and 12th in the league expanded. Ranked rushing attack.

Kingsbury became the Washington Commanders’ offensive coordinator, assisting rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who was drafted one spot after Williams and is the current favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year.

In addition to Kingsbury and Robinson, the Bears also passed over two candidates who secured the offensive coordinator job last cycle: Liam Coen of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, whose offense is ranked eighth, and Klint Kubiak of the New Orleans Saints, who did have done the offense ranked 16th.

Waldron was Eberflus’ top choice “because of his communication skills and his ability to state things clearly and succinctly.” On Monday, Eberflus vowed to make changes to spark one of the NFL’s least efficient offenses, highlighting the biggest problem area as “Communication in the game”.

After a 1-2 start, Chicago’s offensive leadership, which includes Williams, tight end Cole Kmet, wide receiver DJ Moore and tight end Marcedes Lewis – all captains – turned to Waldron and asked to be coached harder.

“Don’t feel like you can’t coach us,” veteran tight end Lewis said in September. “I want to be trained. I want to be great.”

Eberflus is now on his third offensive coordinator since being hired by Chicago in 2022. Amid a three-game losing streak and consecutive OC hires that backfired – Getsy and Waldron – Eberflus finds himself in the hot seat The Bears enter the most difficult stretch of the season with the most difficult remaining depth in the NFL.

Chicago begins a stretch of six division games in eight weeks when the Green Bay Packers (6-3, 1-1) come to Soldier Field in Week 11. The Bears have lost 10 straight games to their NFC North rival.

In taking over the game, Brown inherits a disorganized offense. During their three-game losing streak that included losses to Washington, Arizona and New England, the Bears are the only team in the NFL without a passing touchdown. Over the same period, Chicago ranks last in points per game (9.0), yards per game (3.7), third-down conversion rate (15%) and touchdowns (2).

play

Saturday: The Bears’ OC isn’t the only reason for the team’s offensive woes

Jeff Saturday explains the factors that led to the Bears’ offensive woes and the firing of Shane Waldron.

During this losing streak, Williams ranks near the bottom in almost every major passing statistic for QBs who have made at least two starts. He ranks 32nd in completion percentage (50.5), yards per attempt (4.9) and sacks (18), and he is tied for 31st in passing touchdowns (0) and ranked 30th in overall QBR (21.2).

Williams has a lot to fix, including timing and anticipation when throwing. Williams has missed the target on 13% of his throws, which ranks 33rd among qualified quarterbacks.

Holding the ball for too long also remains a problem. In nine games, Williams had 36 dropbacks when holding the ball for five or more seconds, which is the most in the NFL. He was under pressure on an NFL-high 33 of those dropbacks (92%), and 15 of them resulted in sacks.

That’s a trend that has continued since Williams’ days at USC, where he had 44 such dropbacks (second-most in FBS) in 2023, a season after winning the Heisman Trophy.

On Monday afternoon, Eberflus met with Williams to assess how the rookie handled the recent loss, when he was sacked nine times – a career-best.

“I just want to take his temperature, where he is, where his confidence is, which is high…,” Eberflus said Monday. “We’re 4-5 and have lost three in a row, and again it’s about getting us on the right path.”

That includes finding ways to exploit Chicago’s greatest weapons. Kmet has an 85.3% catch rate and three catches for 27 yards since the Bears’ last win, when he caught two touchdowns in a 35-16 win over Jacksonville. Brown will have to find ways to excite untapped talent like receivers Moore and Keenan Allen and running back D’Andre Swift, who has lost two games after scoring a touchdown in each game after four weeks.

“Thomas is a smart offensive mind who is experienced at managing plays with a collaborative mindset,” Eberflus said in a statement. “I look forward to his leadership of our offensive coaching staff and his plan for our players.”