Bears fire OC Shane Waldron; passing coordinator Thomas Brown to take over

The Chicago Bears have finally made a change after this weekend’s awful 19-3 loss to the New England Patriots. The Bears announced Tuesday morning that offensive coordinator Shane Waldron is out after just nine games. Head coach Matt Eberflus made the final decision.

“After evaluating our entire operation, I decided that it is in the best interest of our team to move in a different direction with the leadership of our offense. This decision was well thought out, one that was conducted deliberately and respectfully,” Eberflus said in a statement. “I would like to thank Shane for his efforts and wish him the best moving forward.”

Thomas Brown, the passing game coordinator, will reportedly take over as offensive coordinator and play caller for the rest of the 2024 season.

Waldron was hired on Jan. 23, 2024, as head coach Matt Eberflus’ handpicked offensive coordinator. His job was to reform the offensive strategy around rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, the Bears’ first overall pick in the 2024 draft.

And before their Week 7 bye, there was some successes. They had a 4-2 record and a four-game home winning streak. They scored at least 24 points in four of their first six games. There was room for improvement all around, but the offense was functional.

The Bears returned in Week 8 against the Washington Commanders. Chicago’s defense did yeoman’s work keeping the high-powered Washington offense under 20 points, but Waldron’s offense, led by Williams, managed just 105 yards through the air, which led to only 15 points in the loss.

The next two games were all but unmitigated disasters. They tallied just 241 yards of total offense and zero touchdowns in a Week 9 blowout at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals. Then in Week 10, they scored a single field goal against the Patriots, one of the worst teams in the league. By the end of that demoralizing loss, Waldron had watched his personally engineered offense go 23 straight drives without scoring a touchdown.

So what do we know about Brown, Waldron’s replacement? He’s in his fifth season coaching in the NFL level after nine years at the college level. He’s in his first season as passing coordinator for the Bears after spending the 2023 season as the Carolina Panthers’ offensive coordinator. The Panthers weren’t exactly an offensive powerhouse a year ago with their own rookie No. 1 pick under center, Bryce Young.

But after going eight quarters without a touchdown, Chicago needed to move on from Waldron. Right now, that might be the most positive thing the Bears have going for them.