Change is afoot at Halas Hall. After a third straight dismal performance coming out of the bye week, the Chicago Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on Tuesday and replaced him with passing game coordinator Thomas Brown.
The move also turns up the heat on coach Matt Eberflus as he tries to right the ship while steering into a difficult second half of the schedule. Why wasn’t Eberflus shown the door too? What will Brown bring to the table? The Tribune’s Brad Biggs sorts through it all in his weekly Bears mailbag.
Is there reason to believe the Bears will look different offensively with Thomas Brown now calling plays? — Willy P., Chicago
That’s getting right to the heart of the matter with eight games remaining: Can the Bears make tangible in-season improvements on offense? It will be difficult for them to change the trajectory of this season. They are 4-5 and squandered opportunities in the easier stretch of the schedule. Their NFC North rivals — the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions — will show no mercy in the next three weeks.
How can Brown be an improvement over Shane Waldron? I think he’s more relatable to players. I think he’ll do a better job of standing in front of the offense and presenting a plan on a weekly basis. I believe he’ll have a stronger presence in meetings, and that matters. A coach has to be able to sell his game plan and strategy to players. He has to deliver a message that gets them believing in the plan. That was one of the confusing things to me about Waldron. He wasn’t dynamic in front of the room, and coordinators can overcome that if they’re on the cutting edge when it comes to scheme and strategy — but he wasn’t that either.
Brown has a little bit of experience calling plays for the Carolina Panthers last season. Coach Frank Reich turned over play-calling responsibilities to Brown starting in Week 8, and he did it for three games before Reich took over again in Week 11. Reich was fired after Week 12 and Brown called plays for the remainder of the season. The Bears interviewed him for the offensive coordinator role, and while there has been more buzz around his name the last couple of years as a potential head coach in the future, here he is with a chance to call plays again.
It’s not like the Bears can put their offensive playbook in the shredder and write a new one. Brown has to identify concepts the team has done well, lean into those and then try to build off them. He has to find a way to protect Caleb Williams and run the ball with much more production. He has to unlock explosive plays for an offense that has struggled mightily to generate them. It’s a lot to ask, and it’s fair to say that Brown, as the passing game coordinator, has been part of the problem.
But I think a fresh voice with more energy can potentially get some buy-in from players because there was clearly none with Waldron the last few weeks. Players would have welcomed this move a week ago or before. It’s difficult to imagine the offense looking worse as the Bears produced only 27 points over the previous three games.
The offense has been dismal. Why did Matt Eberflus wait until the point of no return to do what was obviously needed and fire Shane Waldron? — Leonard, Lake in the Hills
Fair question. The bright spots for the offense came against some really poor opponents, and the Bears emerged from the bye week as a mess offensively. The only thing I can think of is that, after poor showings at Washington and Arizona, the Bears figured they were in a decent spot returning to Soldier Field, where they have played pretty well for a good stretch. The New England Patriots appeared to be a weaker opponent because, well, they were. Eberflus surely hoped the Bears could get back on track against a struggling opponent at home.
Firing a coordinator midway through the season was a last resort for Eberflus because it also indicts him. But here we are. The Bears will pay Waldron not to work for them, and Thomas Brown has been elevated into the play-calling role. Eberflus is attempting a Hail Mary to get this season back on track, and the only way to avoid what seems inevitable is to begin winning consistently.
Why isn’t Matt Eberflus fired yet? — @nellupdhtiek
It’s a reasonable question because the Bears have been terribly flat the last two weeks — the opposite of how they needed to respond to the meltdown at Washington. They’re placing the majority of the blame on a badly underperforming offense, and I didn’t think Eberflus’ defense was the problem against New England. It wasn’t great, but it limited the Patriots to one touchdown in five red-zone trips and wasn’t the reason the Bears lost.
Fans are disappointed because the Bears have played poorly in key moments and fallen short of expectations. Firing a coach in season rarely turns a team’s fortunes around. The Bears have plenty of upheaval going on right now, and I think everyone would agree the most important element of the final eight games is finding a way to protect Caleb Williams better and put him in a spot where he can begin performing more consistently. Would firing Eberflus and promoting someone to the interim role, while having Eric Washington take over as the play caller for the defense, accomplish that?
Eberflus is in a really tough spot. He’ll discuss the staff move before practice Wednesday at Halas Hall and he’ll have trouble winning that news conference. He’s under a mountain of criticism — a lot of it deserved — but changing head coaches midstream usually leads to more dysfunction. I’d also point out that nothing is preventing the Bears from doing research and due diligence now on their options for after the season. Firing the head coach before Black Monday doesn’t provide a real head start in the search process.
I don’t believe the Bears will exceed their win total from last season, and if that doesn’t happen Matt Eberflus is surely fired. If new offensive coordinator Thomas Brown unlocks the offense with moderate improvement, do you think Ryan Poles would promote him to head coach? This would prevent Caleb Williams from having two new head coaches and three offensive coordinators in his first two seasons as a pro. The Bears have to be looking for some continuity for their No. 1 overall drafted QB, right? — Corey S.
I highly doubt continuity will be discussed much at the end of the season. If things get dramatically better for Williams and the offense over the second half of the season, this is a topic we’ll need to revisit. But as I said above, Eberflus is attempting a Hail Mary here in shifting from Shane Waldron to Brown. “Moderate improvement,” as you stated, wouldn’t be a very good reason not to make wholesale changes. It should be about hiring the right coaches, not ones whom Williams or others are familiar with.
We’ve all seen how the Bears broke their last two first-round quarterbacks, and I’m sure firing the coach a year after the QB was drafted certainly doesn’t help. The way this season seems to be heading, what would be better for Caleb Williams’ long-term development: Keeping Matt Eberflus for Williams’ second season and letting him find another OC (which I can’t see working since wouldn’t most good OCs out there be looking at a head coaching job instead of a lateral move?) or dumping Flus and going after Kliff Kingsbury (who has looked like an absolute genius with Jayden Daniels)? — Brien B., Nebraska
I get a lot of sentiment in the mailbag that the Bears ruined Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields. Did they turn them into winners? No. Did they have a great offensive infrastructure around either one? It wasn’t good enough. Did they ruin them? I stop short there. I think they drafted the wrong guys. They certainly did with Trubisky, and Fields was the fourth quarterback off the board in 2021 and there’s a reason he fell to that spot. He was benched after the Pittsburgh Steelers got off to a 4-2 start because the offense wasn’t playing well. The Bears didn’t ruin him. The same concerns scouts had about Fields coming out of Ohio State are elements that plague his game today.
Kingsbury, Ben Johnson, Drew Petzing, Liam Coen, Joe Brady — you name them — all of the hot offensive coaching candidates surely would be of interest to the Bears if they move on from Eberflus after the season. The above list should not be considered complete by any stretch either. The question is how interested would the top candidates be in the Bears. Who would be running the coaching search? Would the candidates believe the organization has an infrastructure in place to breed success? It would be less about the current roster and quarterback and more about how they feel about the building as a whole.
Have the Bears ruined another quarterback, because it’s looking that way, and how much responsibility does Ryan Poles need to take? — @bmarshang
Like I said above, I don’t believe the Bears have ruined quarterbacks. They’ve picked the wrong ones and failed to develop them. But “ruining” suggests those players would have been Pro Bowl talents elsewhere, and I don’t believe that.
Caleb Williams isn’t ruined. He’s struggling and it has gotten worse the past couple of weeks. Everyone around him is struggling, too, and the Bears need to play better as a collective unit to support the rookie. The line has to play better. The receivers have to play better. The game plan and play calling need to be better.
Williams has to play better too. He has been frenetic at times. He isn’t playing with a lot of rhythm. His footwork hasn’t been consistent, and when a quarterback’s feet aren’t right, it’s hard to be accurate. I think the Bears can get him back on track this season. He needs to take the short throws when they are there and not be thinking home run so often.
Poles and the coaches have responsibility in this, but let’s not act like Williams has been destroyed. He has been hit too often and that has to change immediately. But more than enough football remains this season for people to feel optimistic about Williams’ future in January, even if the season as a whole is very disappointing.
Why do the Bears continue to hold off on head coach firings during the season? The deeper problem seems to be not doing it becomes very anti-player. — @quinnmcconks
Take me from Point A to Point B. Fire Eberflus and then what? Name special teams coordinator Richard Hightower interim head coach? Give the title to defensive coordinator Eric Washington and ask linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi to call the defense? Does that change the trajectory of the season?
The Bears are a hot mess right now, and the more firings they have at Halas Hall, the more dysfunctional things appear from the outside. There’s probably a reason the Panthers struggle to get A-list candidates to talk to them, right? Because they look like a complete mess from the outside. The Las Vegas Raiders? Same thing. The Bears don’t want a gong show at Halas Hall. Things are trending very poorly for Eberflus. If it doesn’t turn around, the key is hiring the right replacement, not which day Eberflus was fired.
Did Trace Armstrong’s relationship with Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus cloud the hiring of Shane Waldron? How does Armstrong’s relationship with Poles and Eberflus impact any other decisions moving forward? — @mmesq11
That’s a fair question. The reality is the Bears have had a head coach and offensive coordinator represented by Armstrong for quite some time, maybe going all the way back to the John Fox era. I should point out Armstrong isn’t the only agent representing coaches who works hard to bundle his clients. It makes sense from a business standpoint, and he’s working for the coaches, not the team.
Did Waldron being an Armstrong client factor into the decision process? I’m guessing Eberflus and Poles would say no, but it’s a fair question for folks to wonder about. I’m sure Armstrong, who has a ton of experience in professional football and even more contacts, is a sounding board for his clients when they have questions. Ultimately, Poles and Eberflus need to make moves they believe are best for the organization.
What influence did George McCaskey have in the hiring of Matt Eberflus? — @michaelforre
Bears Chairman George McCaskey speaks before introducing new general manager Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus on Jan. 31, 2022, at Halas Hall. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
The Bears won’t hire a head coach without getting the green light from the owner. Eberflus was a strong candidate for the job when Ryan Poles was hired, but ultimately it was Poles who chose the coach. I’d expect McCaskey to have input on any future moves involving the general manager or head coach. It’s his football team.
This organization is a charter member of the NFL. They keep doing it wrong. When will they get it right? — @kevinwillman
Respectfully, I think you’re falling into a trap that snares a lot of fans: the idea that the team’s history has any bearing on what is happening today or tomorrow. The Bears have an incredible place in the birth and rise of the NFL. George Halas was a great force in the success of the league. The Bears have nine championships, and two have happened since 1946. As I asked a friend lately, “How many people do you know who were following the Bears just after World War II ended?”
The Bears sell the heck out of their history too. And they sell it well. And they should. But in terms of being competitive, they’ve largely been a failure since the Super Bowl XX team eroded, and I probably don’t need to point out there were some mighty lean years between the 1963 title and the rise of that Mike Ditka team.
The Bears used to play a short video before games at Soldier Field that Dick Butkus narrated. It was a quick run through team history. Butkus would point out the Bears “dominated the ’40s,” and every time my reaction was, “That was a long time ago.” Charter membership means only that they’ve been around longer than almost every other team. It doesn’t make them more qualified at the business of winning today or tomorrow.
Why do you think running the ball is the answer? Is there proof they can do it? The only reason they were good at it the last two years was because of Justin Fields. The defenses were afraid of him running. — @gmurillo1003
I believe running the ball is the answer because, as we’ve seen, the Bears are doing a very poor job in pass protection, and it was a struggle even before they were forced to play last week without both starting offensive tackles. You make a fair point that Fields had a lot to do with the rushing totals the last two seasons, and that’s a point I’ve made numerous times.
I was texting with a former player Monday night and he expressed surprise the team hasn’t been more committed to the ground game, saying he believed offensive line coach/run game coordinator Chris Morgan had designed “excellent run schemes.” The Bears have to find a way to take pressure off Caleb Williams and get their linemen in a groove. They have to allow linemen to be physical and stop asking them to pass protect so much.
In retrospect (and I know hindsight is 20/20), do you believe the Bears would have been better off trading the 2024 No. 1 pick just like they did in 2023? In my opinion, the 2023 trade upgraded the roster from weak to at least average. Trading the 2024 pick would have allowed them to further upgrade the roster, perhaps adding talent to both the offensive and defensive lines. I know they still wouldn’t have had a “franchise quarterback,” but what good is a franchise quarterback behind a replacement-level offensive line? It always frustrates me that the Bears are always in “we have to win now” mode instead of taking a longer-term view. — Greg R.
I think they’ve taken a longer view under Ryan Poles. They’ve been pretty pragmatic in how they’ve gone about reshaping the roster. I get your point but I strongly disagree. If you don’t have a franchise quarterback, you have almost no chance of competing for a playoff spot on a yearly basis. Need proof? Check out the last two decades at Halas Hall.
The Bears had the No. 1 pick, and it’s impossible to say where they would have been drafting in the future or what the future QB classes would look like. They had to take a quarterback. Unfortunately, they hired the wrong offensive coordinator and the line has really struggled. But the Bears were not in win-now mode last season. They sure as heck weren’t in 2022. They’ve done a poor job of getting started with Caleb Williams, and the fallout could be just beginning.
What are the Bears thinking about doing with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft? — @energy_investr
The Bears will not be drafting No. 1 in 2025. There are 11 teams with two or three wins and, if you haven’t noticed, a large collection of really bad organizations. But they could wind up with a top-10 pick and I’m going to bet they’re looking at linemen — lots of linemen.
Why do more NFL kickers not try to kick into the “landing zone” on kickoffs and make returners field the kick? I’ve seen it a very few times and in both cases the kicks were covered inside or at the 20. — James F.
That’s a good question and I think some folks thought more teams would attempt to drop kickoffs in the landing zone between the goal line and the 20-yard line. I’m sure you saw the Patriots get penalized Sunday after Joey Slye’s first field goal when the kickoff touched down at the 26. The penalty set up the Bears at their 40-yard line — excellent field position they squandered.
“Some teams are trying to do this a little bit,” one special teams coordinator said when I brought the topic to him. “But there are a lot of head coaches that are afraid they’re going to be giving the opponent the ball at the 40 if the kicker misses. This is out of fear and is probably being mandated by most head coaches.”
Was Jim Harbaugh a realistic option in the offseason? — @scotchromanian
I highly doubt Harbaugh would have been interested in working for the Bears after his time at Michigan. It has been widely reported that coaches throughout the Big Ten were not particularly happy with some of the moves Kevin Warren made when he was conference commissioner. Harbaugh found a landing spot with an established, elite quarterback, and that can be a real draw for coaches with the latitude to pick their destination.
