The Chicago Bears have found their new offensive coordinator in Shane Waldron, who replaces Luke Getsy, who was fired after two seasons.
Waldron boasts plenty of experience, including most recently three years as offensive coordinator and playcaller for the Seattle Seahawks. His other stops included the Los Angeles Rams (2017-20), Washington Redskins (2016) and New England Patriots (2008-09).
Waldron took over as Seahawks offensive coordinator in 2021, which marked Russell Wilson’s final season with the Seahawks after underwhelming results. But Waldron’s star has risen given the work he’s done with Geno Smith, who has proven to be a viable replacement in Seattle.
With the uncertainty at quarterback — be it Justin Fields or Caleb Williams — the Bears must feel confident in Waldron’s ability to adapt an offense to fit whichever quarterback is under center for Chicago in 2024.
We spoke to Tim Weaver of Seahawks Wire, who gave us the rundown on what we can expect from the Bears’ new offensive coordinator and why he could be a good fit in Chicago.
What kind of coach are the Bears getting in Shane Waldron?
Tim Weaver: It’s difficult to say, because playcalling is kind of a fine art, right? I liked some of his work, and some not so much. If we go purely by the numbers then he’s about an average offensive coordinator, as Seattle finished the season ranked No. 17 in points per game, and a little higher in most advanced stats. That’s a step up for the Bears, but he also won’t have as much talent to work with in Chicago, so he’ll have to keep improving to bring their offensive up to the next level.
What did Waldron do best as OC?
TW: Waldron modernized Pete Carroll’s offense, as much as it might be possible to do so. Russell Wilson’s last year was rough but that wasn’t Waldron’s fault as Wilson played hurt for half the year. The last two seasons with Geno Smith have been far better. Waldron implemented much more pre-snap motion, throwing on first down, scheming players open for YAC and other modern ideas that had been missing for far too long.
Where did Waldron struggle?
TW: Third down seemed to be a huge problem every year – he just never seemed to come up with effective plays in obvious pass situations, ie third and long. To be fair, he was limited by some pretty bad pass protection, but Seattle is hardly alone there. The red zone was also consistently a major issue. In this case I just straight up don’t like his red zone package. Shotgun runs from the goal line, a lack of misdirection, a lot of run-run-pass, it just felt very unrefined compared to other sharp young playcallers around the league.
What impact did Waldron have on the Seahawks offense during his time as OC?
TW: As I mentioned earlier, he helped modernize the offense. During much of Russell Wilson’s time as the starter it was a lot of runs on early downs, and occasional deep shots off play action and not a whole lot in-between. Nowadays it’s truly a well-rounded, pass-first offense that is capable of producing at a high level even though they had one of the worst offensive lines in the league – and the cheapest by a huge margin.
Why do you think Waldron could be a good hire for the Bears?
TW: Well, it was a team effort and former QBs coach Dave Canales deserves a lot of the credit, but the development of Geno Smith under his system is a pretty strong indicator of a coordinator who can help elevate a QB. Smith went from being a bottom-five type of starter to playing at a fringe top-10 level over the last two years out of nowhere. Obviously, that's something the Bears will be interested in whether it's Justin Fields or someone like Caleb Williams.
