Bears RBs coach David Walker’s firing disrupts preparation for Saints game
The Bears fired David Walker, who was part of Matt Eberflus’ original staff assembled in 2022, on Wednesday for misconduct.
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
The mindset for any team is simply to quickly move past disruptions, and the NFL schedule demands that pace, but the Bears’ firing of running backs coach David Walker has disrupted their preparation for Sunday’s game against the Saints.
“It’s gonna affect us in some form, but we’ve gotta learn to adapt to the change,” rookie running back Roschon Johnson said after practice Thursday. “It’s unfortunate, but in this business it’s next man up. That’s for me, that’s for coaches, that’s for anybody.
“I’m praying for Coach Walker with everything that transpired, but ultimately we’ve gotta prepare for this next game.”
The Bears dismissed Walker on Wednesday morning because of misconduct, and general manager Ryan Poles said, “If you don’t meet expectations of how you move around this building and how you treat people, how you talk to people, how you act, you don’t belong here.”
A source told the Sun-Times that Walker had been warned about the inappropriate behavior, which has not been specified, and repeated it. He was the second coach to leave over violation of human resources policies, following defensive coordinator Alan Williams’ mysterious resignation six weeks earlier.
Johnson and fellow running back D’Onta Foreman said they were unaware of Walker’s misdeeds and were surprised when coach Matt Eberflus said he was firing him. Top running back Khalil Herbert is on injured reserve and did not talk to reporters.
Omar Young, who was the assistant quarterbacks and wide receivers coach, has stepped in to replace Walker.
“It’s definitely going to be an adjustment having another person in there and trying to get a feel for the way he goes about and does things, but we’re all pros,” Foreman said. “It’s definitely a surprise, but all blessings to [Walker] and his family. We’ve just gotta stay focused on what we’ve got in front of us.”
Foreman added that it was “tough” to learn that the man who had been coaching him since March was acting inappropriately behind the scenes.