Tag: shane waldron

Former Panthers OC Thomas Brown taking over as Bears interim HC

Former Panthers OC Thomas Brown is getting his chance to run the show in Chicago.

Former Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Thomas Brown is taking another step up the ranks in the Windy City.

The Chicago Bears, less than 24 hours after their Thanksgiving Day loss to the division rival Detroit Lions, have reportedly fired head coach Matt Eberflus. Brown, who has been serving as the interim offensive coordinator for the past three games, is expected to now take over as the team’s interim head coach.

Brown’s first shot as an NFL offensive coordinator came last season with the Panthers. He did not, however, assume full-time play-calling duties until the beginning of Week 13—after head coach Frank Reich was dismissed.

Carolina finished the 2023 campaign having averaged a league-worst 265.3 total yards per game.

Chicago then hired Brown as their offensive passing game coordinator ahead of the 2024 season. The 38-year-old would assume the role of interim offensive coordinator on Nov. 12, when the Bears decided to part ways with Shane Waldron.

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Caleb Williams actually apologized to Bears teammates for his part in Shane Waldron’s firing

Kudos to Caleb Williams for acting like a mature adult.

It’s been a tumultuous few weeks for the Chicago Bears. They haven’t scored a touchdown since before Halloween, they haven’t won a game since mid-October, and head coach Matt Eberflus’ seat is now scorching hot after the dismissal of former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.

However, part of the microscope still has to center on No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams. While there were flashes of Williams’ individual talent and gifts in the early season, the hopeful franchise quarterback has been a shell of himself as the Bears offense has cratered at midseason. For reasons related to him (and his general supporting circumstances), Williams has not looked like the player many believed would pull Chicago out of the NFC’s basement. He should really know “it’s not his fault.”

And as reported by Fox’s Jay Glazer, Williams did not shy away from this reality. He apparently apologized to the Bears for playing so poorly lately that he helped Waldron get fired:

I give credit to Williams for acknowledging the elephant in the room and taking some responsibility as the quarterback of the team. This is especially the case in knowing that it isn’t all his fault. Still, in the end, the NFL is a results-driven business. Actions speak so much louder than words.

For the Bears, it’d be nice if Williams started backing up these kinds of gestures with stellar play on the field.

Keenan Allen explains why former Seahawks OC Shane Waldron failed in Chicago

Keenan Allen explains why former Seahawks OC Shane Waldron failed in Chicago

The Chicago Bears relieved former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron of his duties earlier this week. Waldron was replaced as their OC by Thomas Brown, who previously worked under Sean McVay in the NFC West. Seahawks fans were not surprised by the decision based on how ineffective their own offense was last season under his ruling.

Waldron was allowed to interview elsewhere following the departure of head coach Pete Carroll. New head coach Mike Macdonald appointed former Washington Huskies OC Ryan Grubb as the new play caller. Grubb has already been an upgrade, considering Waldron’s offense in Seattle lacked identity and productivity.

Bears veteran receiver Keenan Allen is an excellent judge of a coach’s ability to successfully coordinate an offense. Allen is a six-time Pro Bowler and potential future Hall of Famer. Unfortunately for Waldron, he recently went into detail over his coaching failures.

“He was too nice of a guy,” Allen said. Organized team activities, training camp, we fell into a trap of letting things go and not holding people accountable. That’s a slippery slope. Just professionalism and doing things the right way from the beginning,” Allen concluded his critiques with.

Waldron failed in Chicago despite having the No. 1 overall pick and quarterback, Caleb Williams, from the 2024 NFL Draft. The Bears have a loaded offensive supporting cast with DJ Moore, Cole Kmet, Rome Odunze, and D’Andre Swift in addition to Allen. Despite that, the Bears just went 23-straight possessions without a touchdown and are on a three-game losing streak. They’re currently last place in the NFC North division.

The Seahawks are far better off with Grubb as their offensive coordinator.

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Around the NFL: Bears fire OC Shane Waldron

Around the NFL: Bears fire OC Shane Waldron

It has been a brutal stretch for former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. After two seasons with the Seahawks, Waldron was allowed to interview elsewhere following the departure of head coach Pete Carroll. A gentle way of saying “you are not returning next year.” With good reason, I might add, since Waldron’s offenses in Seattle lacked an identity, cohesion or ability to make crucial adjustments.

This offseason, Waldron left the Emerald City for the Windy City, and unfortunately the change of scenery was not better for him. On Tuesday morning it was announced the Chicago Bears had fired Waldron, following their abysmal 19-3 loss to the New England Patriots at home.

Despite having the No. 1 quarterback from the 2024 NFL draft, Caleb Williams, and another top receiver from college last year in Rome Odunze, Chicago is once again fielding another bottom-tier anemic offense. The Bears have now gone 23-straight possessions without a touchdown and are on a three-game losing streak. They have returned to last place in the NFC North, which is where they finished in the previous two seasons.

The writing was on the wall about Waldron’s chances in Chicago. Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba didn’t exactly give his former OC a ringing endorsement when he was asked about him this offseason. Looking back, JSN’s silence was about as loud of a warning he could have given.

Of course, while Waldron’s departure from his position in Chicago is likely warranted, it’s hard to say he also wasn’t a sacrificial lamb of sorts. Two things can be true. Firing an offensive coordinator is a classic move a head coach, whose head is likely next on the proverbial chopping block, can make to prolong his own employment status. Matt Eberflus is in his third season as Chicago’s top man and nothing has looked good. He has a 14-29 record and despite consecutive last place finishes to start his tenure with the Bears, he was inexplicably allowed to return for the 2024 campaign.

Perhaps making a switch from Waldron to Thomas Brown will help give Chicago’s offense the spark it needs. Otherwise, Eberflus will likely be updating his resume just like his former offensive coordinator.

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Former Wisconsin Badgers assistant becomes Chicago Bears interim offensive coordinator

Former Wisconsin Badgers assistant becomes Chicago Bears interim offensive coordinator

Former Wisconsin running backs coach Thomas Brown was named interim offensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears on Tuesday.

The move arrived shortly after the Bears brass fired former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. The team’s recent three-game losing streak, coupled with lofty expectations surrounding star quarterback Caleb Williams, spurred the release.

With the Chicago Bears at 4-5 on the season, Brown will now manage the offense for the time being.

Brown’s connection to Wisconsin goes back to 2014. Under former Badger head coach Gary Anderson, Brown captained a running back room featuring 2014 Heisman Trophy runner-up Melvin Gordon and future NFL running back Corey Clement.

Backed by over 3,600 rushing yards and 38 rushing touchdowns from Gordon and Clement, Wisconsin rolled to an 11-3 record, Big Ten Championship Game appearance and victory over #19 Auburn in the Outback Bowl.

Following his tenure at UW, Brown spent time as the running backs coach at Georgia (2015), Miami-FL (2016-18) and South Carolina (2019) before making the jump to the NFL level.

There, he served Los Angeles Rams’ running backs coach in 2020 and assistant head coach from 2021-22 before being hired as the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers in ’23.

Brown assumed duties as the Bears’ passing game coordinator in 2024. The former Wisconsin assistant will now take a stab at calling the plays for Williams and company for the foreseeable future.

The Bears are next on the field on Sunday against the Packers.

Matt Eberflus’ initial plan for fired Bears OC Shane Waldron shows why he still really needs to go

Matt Eberflus has no idea what he’s doing.

After an alarming three-game losing streak, the crumbling Chicago Bears had to do something like fire now-former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. Maintaining the status quo would’ve only deepened the Bears’ malaise.

But let’s not beat around the bush.

Until further notice, head coach Matt Eberflus still has to go, too.

Right now. Not in a week. Not sometime next month. Not the likely day after the 2024 season because the Bears have strangely never fired a coach midseason. Right. Now.

Beyond the mountain of evidence we already have that Eberflus isn’t fit to coach a professional football team, he somehow gave us another telling display of incompetence while firing his first official scapegoat. If left to his devices, it’s apparent he’ll only do more damage to a team that has seemingly already quit on him.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Eberflus’ initial plan to change things up in Chicago was simply moving Waldron’s place up to the booth during Bears games. (He stayed on the sideline during the action.) Ah, yes, letting Waldron see more of the field from a bird eye’s view while still calling broken plays with no sense or rhythm would be the ticket.

That was his “big” change, dearest readers.

My goodness. Eberflus could not be more in over his head:

It’s unclear what happened to change Eberflus’ mind before eventually firing Waldron. During staff meetings, someone perhaps might have been in his ear before switching to the right decision. But the mere fact that Eberflus still initially wanted the same person running an irreparable offensive scheme from another place in stadiums shows exactly why he should no longer be the Bears’ coach.

Don’t be surprised when Eberflus gets eight more weeks from one of the NFL’s most dysfunctional organizations anyway.

Two former Saints offensive coordinator candidates have already been fired

Two former Saints offensive coordinator candidates have already been fired by the teams that hired them. Klint Kubiak must prove he shouldn’t join them.

Two former New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator candidates have already been fired by the teams that hired them this offseason, with the Chicago Bears jettisoning Shane Waldron not long after the Las Vegas Raiders moved on from Luke Getsy.

Klint Kubiak, who the Saints ultimately went with, must prove he shouldn’t join them. Getsy interviewed with New Orleans twice before accepting the Raiders job. Kubiak may have been hired by Dennis Allen but that doesn’t mean Darren Rizzi won’t let him go if the team doesn’t get results. Fortunately, that feels unlikely after the team revived itself with a win in Rizzi’s head coaching debut last weekend.

A big reason naming Rizzi the interim head coach made sense was because it meant little disruption for Kubiak on offense and Joe Woods coordinating the defense. That Rizzi didn’t quickly dismiss Kubiak and go with his own play-caller after being named the interim speaks volumes.

Still, Waldron and Getsy being axed doesn’t necessarily mean the Saints got it right with Kubiak. He’s been too slow to adapt when the defense has countered his game plans, and he didn’t do a good job preparing rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler to start during a string of losses when Derek Carr was injured. Widespread injuries to the offensive line and skills positions played a part, sure, but Kubiak’s unit hasn’t reached the same heights they met back in Weeks 1 and 2.

Hopefully he gets back on track once Erik McCoy returns to the lineup. The Saints welcomed their starting center back at practice last week and waived his backup Conner McGovern on Monday, which probably signals his return. McCoy was vital to Kubiak’s vision for the offense — the Pro Bowler was tasked with setting protections pre-snap, not the quarterback, which took a big load off Derek Carr’s shoulders to start the season. There’s not much reason to think Kubiak’s job is in jeopardy right now, but if the Saints fall back into a slump after beating Atlanta every option should be on the table. They need to know who’s part of the solution, long-term, and who’s part of the problem.

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Bears fire OC Shane Waldron after disastrous loss to Patriots

Shane Waldron gets fired after 19-3 loss to the Patriots

The New England Patriots beat the Chicago Bears so badly they had no choice but to make the disastrous midseason move of firing their offensive coordinator, Shane Waldron.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the news on Tuesday.

Granted, the ship was already sinking before the Patriots came along and dominated the Bears on Soldier Field in Week 10. It was a sack party for New England with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams serving as the pinata.

Nearly every member of the Patriots’ defense got a shot in on Williams, who was sacked nine times and hit 13 times.

By the end of the game, the Bears only had 142 total yards of offense against a Patriots team that initially looked like it was dead in the water.

Many viewed Waldron as a good fit for the Patriots during their offseason search for a new offensive coordinator.

But seeing how things have gone in Chicago, it’s safe to say the Patriots were better off hiring Alex Van Pelt, at the very least.

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Bears players reportedly wanted Caleb Williams benched before Shane Waldron’s firing

This is the stupidest day in Bears history, a record that will subsequently be broken by every subsequent day in Bears history.

In vintage Chicago Bears fashion, they deployed a half-measure to solve their recent lifeless woes when they fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on Tuesday. It’s almost certainly a ploy for head coach Matt Eberflus to try and keep his job as his coaching seat gets hotter by the week because he needed a person to scapegoat. Nonetheless, the Bears haven’t scored a touchdown in two weeks, so someone simply had to go.

The more interesting part of this development is how it concerns the struggling Caleb Williams.

The rookie No. 1 overall pick is now completing roughly just 60 percent of his passes and is averaging a paltry 6.1 yards per pass attempt. His Bears offensive line isn’t blocking well for him, and even when it does, Williams isn’t seeing the field well or putting many passes on target.

Still, it would be silly to bench the franchise’s only hope for the future amid all this chaos … right? Because, you know, as usual, it’s not all his fault.

Well, not according to some anonymous Bears players. Per a report from Marc Silverman of ESPN 1000 in Chicago, some unnamed Bears veterans apparently wanted Williams benched for backup Tyson Bagent before they fired Waldron.

Oh boy. It keeps getting worse, doesn’t it?

The Bears are a dysfunctional mess all around. In other news, the grass is green. Also, everyone pays taxes and eventually dies.

Ex-Panthers coach getting 2nd chance as OC with Bears

Former Panthers OC Thomas Brown is taking over play-calling duties for the struggling Bears.

Former Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Thomas Brown is getting his second chance.

As announced on Tuesday, Brown has been promoted to serve as the offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears—who relieved Shane Waldron of the duties after nine games. Brown was hired by Chicago this past offseason as the team’s offensive passing game coordinator.

Bears head coach Matt Eberflus stated the following of Brown in the team’s official release from this morning:

“Thomas is a bright offensive mind who has experience calling plays with a collaborative mindset. I look forward to his leadership over our offensive coaching staff and his plan for our players.”

After spending three seasons with the Los Angeles Rams (2020 to 2022), Brown was hired by the Panthers as their offensive coordinator ahead of the 2023 campaign. He did not start out at the position with play-calling duties, a responsibility then-head coach Frank Reich took command of to begin the season.

Brown would eventually take over as the full-time play-caller following Reich’s firing in Week 12.

The Panthers finished 2023 averaging 265.3 total yards per game, the fewest in the NFL.

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