Bears fire Shane Waldron: How much does it mean for Matt Eberflus, Caleb Williams?

When Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus stepped behind the podium in the Halas Hall media room on Monday, he was on the defensive. He had already gone three-and-out and viral on social media.

“Coach, your cell phone is as bad as the offense right now,” ESPN 1000 radio host David Kaplan said when Eberflus’ phone connection went down for the third time during his weekly interview on the team’s flagship station.

Eberflus never returned to finish the interview, while Kaplan’s comment spread on social media. Eberflus also had no decisions to share on the radio or later during his press conference in Halas Hall.

But everyone knew what was coming.

The Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on Tuesday morning and replaced him with Thomas Brown, the team’s passing game coordinator.

The move itself is far from surprising. According to Pro Football Reference, rookie quarterback Caleb Williams ranks as the No. 28th in traditional passer rating, 30th in QBR, 32nd in completion percentage, 33rd in sack percentage and 30th in adjusted net yards per game. attempts, among qualified quarterbacks.

Something had to be done. Someone had to go. Firing Waldron is the obvious move, but there are so many layers to this. Let’s discuss.

Adam Jahns: Fish, I’ll start with this. It’s only fitting that it all happens during the week the Bears play the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field. I can already hear the bows. The Packers come off their bye week with extra time to prepare for Sunday, while the Bears fired their offensive coordinator after nine games and apparently wasted a day of game preparation going through “the process” that Eberflus couldn’t stop talking about on Monday. The Bears had to fire Waldron, but Brown isn’t exactly in an enviable position.

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Kevin Fishbain: Fortunately for Brown, what could be worse than scoring three points against the last-place Patriots? Score zero points against the Packers? We hear all the time that this is a tough business, but sometimes the Bears are too nice, and I wonder if this is an example of that, and it’s to their detriment. That was not what Eberflus wanted to do. There’s also the factor that general manager Ryan Poles, Eberflus and Waldron all share an agent. I’m sure they worked on a solution, but this is a historically bad offense with a historically – in Bears terms – talented group of players. Something had to change. Brown is thought of a lot. He seems like the type of person who would always be prepared for something like this, and I imagine his experience in Carolina helped.

New Bears offensive coordinator Thomas Brown was put in a similar situation last season with Bryce Young and the Panthers. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

John: And it was quite an experience! Brown left the Los Angeles Rams to be the Carolina Panthers’ offensive coordinator last season. The Panthers, of course, took quarterback Bryce Young with the first pick they got from the Bears. The whole season was a disaster. Brown took over play-calling duties from former coach Frank Reich during the season before Reich took them back. Reich was eventually fired after a 1-10 start. Brown certainly learned some hard lessons. He has eight games to fix the offense and get Williams back on track with his development. The easy part of the Bears’ schedule is over, though.

Fishbain: Brown has a much better complement of weapons to work with on this offense than he did in Carolina, but the remaining schedule is daunting. Here’s how the next four teams on their schedule rank in opponent passer rating: 12th (Packers), fifth (Vikings), first (Lions) and sixth (49ers). Oh, and the Vikings lead the league in takeaways, followed by the Packers and Lions. The 49ers are ninth. The opposing defense is tougher. The question is, can Brown’s calling and leadership help get the most out of the quarterback and receivers around him?

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John: But here’s the problem. What lies ahead is about more than Williams’ development or what happens with wide receiver DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and rookie Rome Odunze. Eberflus is hanging on by a thread here. In a sense, Brown is now training to save Eberflus’ job. It’s not hyperbole. There have been too many signs of discord to ignore. Veteran players should be upset. They should want change. Fire Waldron is only part of this. Brown is Eberflus’ third offensive coordinator in three seasons, not to mention all the personnel changes that occurred during and after last season. Williams could improve under Brown, but the Bears can still lose to better teams. And then everyone is shown the door after the season.

Fishbain: And so the cycle continues! If the Bears fire this coaching staff, Williams will have three play-callers in his first 18 NFL games. It would be the third time in less than a decade that the Bears have drafted a quarterback in the first round, only to fire the coach after the season. We’re approaching the worst-case scenario, and it’s not fair to put everything on Brown to fix it. It would have to be some sort of miraculous win and Williams’ performance at a high level that could make Eberflus’ bosses forget the moments leading up to this point. If Brown makes a huge difference in Williams’ development and puts him on track for 2025, it will help save this season, regardless of record or future changes.

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John: You are right that it is not fair. And I would say, if anything, if Williams improves, it will save the Browns’ reputation before it saves anyone else’s job. He would rise above the mess the Bears have become this season. The Bears hired Waldron over Brown, but also Kliff Kingsbury, Zac Robinson, Liam Coen and Greg Roman, who was also interviewed and now coordinates better offenses in the NFL. Brown was also a head coaching candidate in previous cycles.

Fishbain: We talked about the Bears going into a worst-case scenario, but this would be the best-case scenario for the last eight games. What if the offense takes off, Williams looks like the No. 1 we saw in London, and Brown is a galvanizing leader? Is he a possibility to be the next head coach? Will he keep calling plays for a new head coach (Mike Vrabel, anyone?)? It’s still strange to talk in those terms just 16 days after the Bears were two seconds away from being 5-2, but that’s what a three-game losing streak and the first Bears offensive coordinator fired this season has done. Everything is on the table for the Bears’ future, and there are big decisions to be made over the next few months. They’ve done everything to ruin what should be a great quarterback situation. Now they have to fix it.

John: Starting against the Packers.

(Top photo: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)