Going into the 2024 off-season, it was felt by many that the Chicago Bears would go in one of two directions. Either they would replace quarterback Justin Fields, or they would replace offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. As it turns out, both were sent packing. Fields hadn’t made enough progress as a passer. That move wasn’t a surprise. Getsy leaving was. He’d produced a solid running game across two years in charge. Maybe a new quarterback would allow him to unlock the full potential of his scheme. However, Teven Jenkins hinted to Carmen Vitali of Fox Sports that the move wasn’t surprising to the Bears locker room.
Apparently, Getsy didn’t have the greatest reputation by the end of last season. Several players weren’t happy with the state of his scheme, believing it to be selfish and difficult to understand. Speculation is the coordinator lacked flexibility because he’d spent most of his NFL career in Green Bay working with Aaron Rodgers, who didn’t need much coaching by that point in his career. Getsy was unwilling or unable to modify his approach to help his players better understand their jobs.
That is often why the offense would get off to great starts but almost always failed to adjust later in games.
It was never made entirely clear why the Bears let Getsy go. GM Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus even gave ringing endorsements when the Las Vegas Raiders asked about him. The truth is the move was made to prevent any further issues in the locker room. Players weren’t happy with his approach, and he was unable or unwilling to fix it. That is why the Bears went after Shane Waldron. Not only is the new coordinator more experienced from his time in Seattle, but he has a reputation for being far more flexible.
Credit to Teven Jenkins for not calling Getsy out by name. That would’ve created an unwelcome firestorm his team doesn’t need. Things are in the past now. He merely wishes it could’ve been different. It sounds like many feel the offense in 2023 underachieved. They had the capability of doing much more but were constantly held back by closed minds. Expectations are that things will be different this year. Everybody is anxious to show the world what this group can do. Jenkins is at the front of that line.
