Shane Waldron is now out as Chicago Bears offensive coordinator after three consecutive losses and 27 combined points. It's a surprising, yet likely necessary move just nine games into his tenure and it represents the urgency being felt by the franchise to develop Caleb Williams into the savior many projected him to be. And it may not be the last change as Matt Eberflus seems to be coaching to preserve his own job at this point as the team has fallen from an optimistic 4-2 to a distressing 4-5.
ESPN's Mike Greenberg didn't hold back on the Bears while talking about the news on Tuesday morning's Get Up:
"This is an organizational catastrophe," he said. "With a capital C. The city of Chicago, the Bears, they have that big C on their helmet. They should change it to catastrophe. The degree to which they have mishandled the situation is now embarrassing."
"This is an organizational catastrophe."@ESPNGreeny reacts to the Bears firing offensive coordinator Shane Waldron 👀 pic.twitter.com/BsQvVRcOKg
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) November 12, 2024
Greenberg pointed out that the organization knew they'd be selecting Williams months before they actually selected him. They knew they had to absolutely nail the hire when it came to providing him the best opportunity to flourish. And they still swerved to pick Waldron, only to quickly abandon that plan midseason. That is certainly not the way to do it.
There's going to be a lot of pile-on when it comes to the Bears today and they have no one to blame but themselves. Some of it will feel like overkill though because Williams is still a rookie and not being a fully formed product nine games in doesn't mean he won't reach the level he's been expected to reach. With his talent he's capable of tapping into that version of himself at any time—and one could argue that his offensive coordinator is not super crucial to that endeavor.
Catastrophe is a strong word at the midway point of the season. Perhaps it will prove appropriate should the Bears struggle to get things back on track with any immediacy. On the other hand, it was always going to be hard to imagine an insanely successful season for a team that's clearly the fourth-best team in the NFC North.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mike Greenberg on Bears' Mess: The 'C' in Chicago Stands for Catastrophe.
