The Chicago Bears have their plans set for the 2024 season. Caleb Williams is the quarterback. He has a roster around him littered with young and veteran talent. Most importantly, he has an offensive coordinator with a proven track record guiding the way. Shane Waldron was an understudy of Sean McVay and Pete Carroll. Both have excellent backgrounds when it comes to developing quarterbacks. Waldron proved his mettle over the past two years, getting back-to-back productive seasons from former backup Geno Smith.
That gives people confidence he will know what to do with Williams. After all, the #1 overall pick shares a lot in common stylistically with Russell Wilson. Waldron coached the seven-time Pro Bowler in 2021. He should already have a good idea of how to deploy a scheme that works to Williams’ strengths. Hopes are high that the rookie will have success right out of the gate. While that would be terrific for the Bears, it may come at a cost. Pro Football Focus mentioned it in their recent column.
Waldron has been around the block a bit, serving as the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator from 2021-23. Despite having a boatload of talent, Seattle’s offense didn’t always look phenomenal last year, finishing 12th in PFF grade and 10th in EPA per play. However, Waldron did outstanding work to revive Geno Smith’s career, a marvel that still isn’t discussed enough.
Despite the Seahawks finishing a disappointing 9-8 last year, Waldron wasn’t fired; instead, he was poached by Chicago to help lead its upstart roster. With Caleb Williams, Keenan Allen, D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, D’Andre Swift, Khalil Herbert and Cole Kmet at his disposal, the level of talent for Waldron with the Bears should mirror — if not exceed — what he enjoyed in the Pacific Northwest.
If the Bears’ offense fires as expected in Waldron’s first year, and especially if Williams has a strong rookie campaign, expect the 44-year-old Sean McVay protégé to get legitimate head coaching opportunities.
Head coach Matt Eberflus seems to think they have that covered. He expressed confidence in passing game coordinator Thomas Brown for the role if that situation comes up. Is that the right decision? Brown only has one year of experience as an offensive coordinator. That came last season with the Carolina Panthers. Their situation was a complete mess. Talent-wise, they were barren at wide receiver and along the offensive line. What made it worse was constantly shifting responsibilities.
Brown started the year not calling plays. Then, in mid-October, head coach Frank Reich gave him the call sheet. Brown called plays for three weeks before Reich took them back. Two weeks later, Reich was fired. That forced Brown to resume play calling again. It is almost impossible to have success in such a situation, and there wasn’t much of it. That said, there were glimpses of a capable coordinator during that stretch. His finest moment came when he engineered 30 points on Christmas Eve, nearly stunning the Green Bay Packers. Bryce Young threw for 312 yards and two touchdowns
The Chicago Bears seem to think Brown can handle those duties if required, especially if he has a full off-season to make the transition. One can only hope Waldron sticks around for awhile. The last thing the Bears need is constantly changing coordinators.
