The Chicago Bears offense has pulled a complete 180 in the past two weeks since the departure of Shane Waldron in favor of Thomas Brown. After scoring just 27 points total in three weeks, the unit put up 27 on Sunday against the NFL’s #1 defense of the Minnesota Vikings. Caleb Williams put up 340 yards passing and two touchdowns, completing over 68% of his throws. The rookie looked supremely confident, a stark contrast to his bottoming out against New England two weeks ago. Head coach Matt Eberflus was asked how Brown calls plays and his overall personality.
The answer started normal, with praise for the relationship the two of them have developed since January. It was then that Eberflus steered things in an unusual direction, making sure to clarify how hard he worked to bring Brown to Chicago. The point was oddly timed since Eberflus hired Brown to become a passing game coordinator, not an offensive coordinator. The only reason the Bears got to this point is because his original pick, Waldron, was so atrocious that the team had to fire him after nine games.
It was almost as if Eberflus was trying to remind everybody that Brown didn’t come here without him.
Anybody with marginal common sense would be able to sense it. Eberflus has appeared far more reserved in recent weeks compared to his usual upbeat self when the season began. He looks like a man who squandered a 4-2 start to the season and knows his job is slipping away from him. When that happens, it’s normal for a person to cling to any bit of positivity they can, hoping to remind the bosses that he’s done good things for the franchise. Those comments about Brown are a perfect example.
The biggest criticism Matt Eberflus faced was his inability to help young quarterbacks grow. His hires of Luke Getsy and Waldron reinforced this. However, as Brown seems to have rescued Williams, the head coach couldn’t help but point out that the assistant coach wouldn’t be here without him. That is true. It’s also true that Eberflus originally interviewed him for the offensive coordinator position and gave it to Waldron anyway. Conveniently, he left that part out.
