The Chicago Bears knew they had to make a change at offensive coordinator once the 2024 off-season began. After two years, it was apparent Luke Getsy lacked certain qualities necessary for what they needed. After a thorough search spanning weeks, head coach Matt Eberflus and GM Ryan Poles pinpointed Shane Waldron as his replacement. It felt like a quality hire at the time. Waldron had three productive seasons running the Seattle Seahawks offense, getting quality years from Russell Wilson and Geno Smith.
When the Bears brought Waldron aboard, most felt it clearly indicated the team wished to maintain an offensive scheme similar to the Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay tree. That classic outside-zone rushing attack mixed with play action and other crafty alignments. Waldron learned that style for years in Los Angeles. However, it might not be what he has planned for the Bears. Insider Adam Caplan of Pro Football Network hears the new coordinator plans to deploy a different philosophy.
Offensively, keep in mind that GM Ryan Poles did not draft the underrated Darnell Mooney and selected WR Tyler Scott in the fourth round in last year’s draft. Both are seen as similar types of players in terms of skill set, with Scott having a slightly larger body frame.
We’re told Scott was cross-trained to play the slot (“F” position in the West Coast offense) and the “Z” (move position) last year, and they’re going to be running a West Coast scheme with new OC Shane Waldron.
The primary goal of that scheme was to utilize timing and route-running to create a diverse passing attack that quickly got the ball out of the quarterback’s hand. A three-step drop or five-step drop and the ball is out. It was meant to protect the QB from excessive hits while forcing the defense to defend all areas of the field since the system employed lots of slants and swing passes. If executed properly, this opens up opportunities to run the ball and, by extension, more play action shots down the field.
Some current teams that employ variations of this offense include the Kansas City Chiefs (Andy Reid), Cincinnati Bengals (Zac Taylor), Denver Broncos (Sean Payton), and Philadelphia Eagles (Kellen Moore). Each of those names has something in common. They have established track records of elevating young quarterbacks.
It was one of the reasons Bill Walsh created the offense in the first place. He wanted to make life easier for his quarterback. That is why guys like Ken Anderson, Joe Montana, Steve Young, Brett Favre, Rich Gannon, Donovan McNabb, Drew Brees, and Patrick Mahomes have done so well over the years. With the Bears expected to draft a QB at #1 overall in April, having Shane Waldron implement such a system suddenly makes a lot of sense.
