Tag: shane waldron

Bears fire offensive coordinator Shane Waldron after nine games

Shane Waldron is out after nine games as Bears OC

Caleb Williams will have a second offensive coordinator nine games into his rookie season.

The Chicago Bears fired OC Shane Waldron on Tuesday. That would be the same Waldron who was hired for the position before the season.

Yes, nine games into a season the Bears have moved on from their OC.

So much was expected with the No. 1 overall pick from USC coming into the Windy City. The offense has been stagnant to stinky.

Thomas Brown has been promoted to OC.

Williams has thrown for 1,785 yards in nine games. The Bears have scored 27 points in their last three games, all losses.

Waldron was passing game coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks from 2021-2023.

This could also be looked at as a way for Matt Eberflus to distract the blame for the season from himself.

Bears fire one former Rams assistant and promote another in coordinator shuffle

The Bears have fired former Rams assistant Shane Waldron and promoted Thomas Brown to OC

One former Los Angeles Rams assistant is out and another is in for the Chicago Bears as they shuffled their offensive coordinator position under Matt Eberflus on Tuesday. Shane Waldron, who was on Sean McVay’s staff for four years in Los Angeles, has been fired as the Bears’ offensive coordinator.

Replacing him is Thomas Brown, who was with the Rams for three years from 2020-2022. Brown is being promoted from passing game coordinator to offensive coordinator, his second opportunity to be an OC in the NFL; he was Carolina’s offensive coordinator for one year in 2023.

Waldron has not had successful stints as an offensive coordinator thus far, ranking 13th or worse in each of his four years in that position: three with the Seahawks and one with the Beras. This season, Chicago ranks 30th in total yards after the Seahawks were 21st under Waldron in 2023.

This firing doesn’t mean Waldron won’t get another offensive coordinator opportunity in the future but it certainly isn’t a great look to be fired after only nine games with a team.

Former Seahawks OC Shane Waldron is struggling with Bears

Former Seahawks OC Shane Waldron is struggling with Bears

The Seattle Seahawks wisely decided to make a change at offensive coordinator this past offseason. When long-tenured head coach Pete Carroll did not return to the team in 2024, it was obvious that his OC Shane Waldron would be exiting with him. New head coach Mike Macdonald made that decision official before appointing Ryan Grubb as his offensive coordinator.

And though Grubb’s results have been mixed thus far, he’s been undeniably better than Waldron was last season. Speaking of Waldron, he immediately landed another gig, gaining control of play-calling duties for the Chicago Bears and their rookie No. 1 overall quarterback Caleb Williams.

Fast forward 10 weeks into Waldron’s tenure with the Bears and The Athletic is reporting that head coach Matt Eberflus is already considering making a change.

The Bears were defeated 19-3 by the New England Patriots on Sunday. Waldron’s offense gained 142 total yards and managed three points and 11 first downs. The Bears converted 1-of-14 third-down attempts and punted on eight occasions. Williams hasn’t thrown a touchdown in three consecutive contests, all losses. The Bears are averaging 9.0 points per outing since their Week 7 bye week, a historically relevant scoring drought.

The Seahawks wisely moved on from Waldron and his offense that lacks identity. The Bears were silly to entrust Waldron with Williams’ development. Seattle is far better off with Macdonald and Grubb at the helm.

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D.J. Moore answered question about Bears’ playcaller changes like a true politician

D.J. Moore is clearly unhappy with the Bears’ coaches.

A once-promising season for the 2024 Chicago Bears is now in a full-on tailspin. After Sunday’s pathetic effort against the Arizona Cardinals in a blowout loss, it seems pretty apparent that Bears players have begun quitting on milquetoast head coach Matt Eberflus.

One of the biggest reasons for the Bears’ struggles lately — and really, all season — has been an inept offense with no rhyme or reason. Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron (who also calls the plays) has overseen an attack that has scored seven total first-quarter points all season. Over the last two weeks alone, the Bears’ offense somehow made the Washington Commanders’ and Cardinals’ awful defenses look like stout juggernauts.

But if you ask receiver D.J. Moore about whether someone else should call the plays for the Bears’ offense moving forward — as Chicago radio station 670 The Score did on Monday morning — he thinks it won’t happen.

Hey, wait a minute. The question was about whether they should, not whether they will. Oh. Got it:

D.J. Moore knows exactly what he’s doing when he doesn’t really address the question there. He’s subtly inserting his opinion that Waldron hasn’t been good enough by explaining why he won’t be replaced without actually saying it in certain terms. Spoken like a true politician.

Beyond the Bears’ offense’s general issues, it’s not hard to see why Moore would be frustrated. As a genuine No. 1 receiver, Chicago hasn’t found a way to involve its best playmaker consistently and productively all season. A year after catching nearly 100 passes for over 1,300 yards, Moore is on pace for less than 800 yards in 2024 while averaging just over 10 yards a catch.

(Note: The same principle applies to talented tight end Cole Kmet, who weirdly has just one target over the last two weeks after being on a Pro Bowl-caliber pace through the Bears’ first six games.)

You tell me what’s more likely. Did a 27-year-old elite receiver like Moore suddenly fall off a cliff, or does his new offensive coordinator have no idea how to utilize him?

Hmm, a real tough one here.

It’s no wonder Moore didn’t endorse Waldron and instead said why the Bears won’t move any chairs on their ship deck around. He’s exasperated with his role and how his unit is playing, and I can’t blame him.

Analytics are disappointing for Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Analytics are disappointing for Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba

The Seattle Seahawks made a good decision when hiring Ryan Grubb as the new offensive coordinator in place of Shane Waldron this season. Waldron consistently failed to maximize Seattle’s offensive outputs last year. And while Grubb is still working through some kinks, like the team’s run-game struggles, there’s little doubt that he’s been an upgrade in the play-calling department.

One area Seahawks fans were excited to see Grubb improve was the usage of sophomore wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Waldron didn’t get the most out of Smith-Njigba last campaign. And while the second-year wideout has improved his weekly efforts this season, the analytics actually indicate his advanced numbers are down across the board.

Smith-Njigba is averaging fewer yards per route run (1.22), yards per target (6.3), yards per reception (9.0), and yards after catch per reception (4.5) than last season, according to the data collected above by Ian Hartitz. It’s not all bad news, however. Smith-Njigba’s average depth of target has increased from 6.4 during the 2023 campaign to 8.2 this year.

Smith-Njigba currently leads the Seahawks in targets with 62. The former Ohio State standout also leads the offense in receptions (43), but is third in receiving yards (388) with just one touchdown. His 9.0 yards per reception trails DK Metcalf (16.2) and Tyler Lockett (12.7) by a fairly large margin.

Grubb needs to start helping Smith-Njigba produce better metrics in these departments. Smith-Njigba must also take accountability for the outputs he’s in control of, such as yards after catch per reception. The analytics indicate the Seahawks haven’t fully unlocked their second-year wideout yet.

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Caleb Williams and other Bears offensive leaders embarrassingly had to tell OC Shane Waldron to be more aggressive

Only the Bears could be this embarrassing.

Veteran playmaker Keenan Allen might be back for the Chicago Bears in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Rams, but it doesn’t appear key Chicago players are convinced his return will help their offensive woes that much in 2024.

And they’re letting offensive coordinator Shane Waldron know it.

According to Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer, Caleb Williams, Cole Kmet, and Marcedes Lewis met with Waldron this week to tell him he needs to coach and call plays more aggressively. Uh, yeah, that’s never what you want to hear about an offense less than a month into the season. I’m talking about both having the private meeting with their coach and the kinda alarming critical message.

https://twitter.com/nflonfox/status/1840425485550977355

Waldron, of course, is in his first year as Chicago’s lead offensive mind. While he had a good reputation with the Seattle Seahawks in recent years, a combination of Williams’ learning curve as a rookie and a bunch of different moving parts have led the Bears to one of the NFL’s worst statistical offenses so far.

To Waldron’s credit, he appears receptive to this kind of criticism. Earlier this week, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Waldron had spent significant time highlighting some of his worst play calls and taking responsibility for them in front of his players. That might be no small thing.

At the very least, it seems the Bears’ offensive leaders and Waldron have a quality back-and-forth dialogue. We’ll see whether it manifests in more points and yards moving forward.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba named to NFL.com’s 2024 All-Breakout Team

According to Bucky Brooks at NFL.com, JSN is the WR1 on his 2024 All-Breakout Team.

If you’re a Seahawks fan looking for reasons to be excited about this coming season, look no further than second-year wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who’s about to become a household name. After a tantalizing but frustrating rookie season, JSN might take a bigger leap than any other player at his position this coming season compared to 2023.

Apparently Bucky Brooks at NFL.com agrees, as JSN is the WR1 on his 2024 All-Breakout Team.

“The No. 20 overall pick from last year could enjoy a breakout campaign in new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb’s high-flying attack. With defenses intent on slowing down DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, JSN could flourish whipping CB3s alongside Seattle’s established pass catchers. The smooth route runner posted modest production (63 catches, 628 yards and four scores) as a third option in 2024, but those numbers could surge in an offense that features more concepts designed to get the ball to a dangerous slot receiver on the move.”

Whatever Smith-Njigba’s ADP is for fantasy football it’s too low. The average fan just doesn’t have him on their radar like they should, understandably so thanks to former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s failure to utilize JSN’s full skill-set.

While DK Metcalf is still at the top of the wide receiver depth chart, there’s a chance that Smith-Njigba may end up outscoring him. Metcalf had issues in the red zone last season, only catching 10 of 23 targets. JSN only caught 4 of 10 but we consider that a playcalling issue, the same as DK’s. Either way, expect that second number to take a big jump.

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Mike Macdonald: JSN will be a ‘massive piece’ of Seahawks offense

Nobody has more reason to be excited about the Seahawks’ offseason coaching changes than second-year wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Nobody has more reason to be excited about the Seahawks’ offseason coaching changes than second-year wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. While JSN showed a lot of promise as a rookie, his ceiling was kept artificially low thanks to some questionable usage via former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. Smith-Njigba clearly resented the way that Waldron used him in 2023 and frankly he has every right to.

Heading into Year 2, JSN now has a far more-accomplished offensive playcaller in Ryan Grubb – one who has already proven he knows how to run a true three-deep WR game. How well he uses JSN’s considerable skillset will be a big factor in the pass game. Here’s what head coach Mike Maconald told reporters about JSN’s role last week at mandatory minicamp.

For the fantasy-minded community, keep an eye on JSN’s almost certain underrated ADP as your fantasy drafts approach. For Seahawks fans, expect a significant jump in JSN’s targets and usage down field while also continiuing to be a major component of the screen attack.

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TE Marcedes Lewis officially re-signs with Bears on 1-year deal

The man known as “Big Dog” is back in Chicago.

Marcedes Lewis is officially back in the navy and orange.

The 40-year-old tight end re-signed with the Chicago Bears on Monday, agreeing to a one-year deal. The signing came just one day after reports surfaced from FOX NFL insider Jay Glazer that the two sides would meet to discuss a deal.

Lewis joined the Bears last summer on a one-year-deal as a veteran leader on a young team. He came into the league in 2006 as a Jacksonville Jaguars first-round pick, and spent five years with the Green Bay Packers. Despite his age, Lewis showed he’s still considered one of the top blockers in the league, playing an important role as the team’s extra lineman on many different plays. His 77.1 PFF run-blocking grade was fifth among tight ends. Lewis also caught four catches for 29 yards and a touchdown.

Now, Lewis is back, but with new faces in key positions. Gone are his former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and teammate Robert Tonyan, both of whom were instrumental in bringing him to Chicago, as well as quarterback Justin Fields, who was traded in the offseason.

Now, he joins an offense led by offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. Lewis will also reunite with tight end Cole Kmet and work with newcomer Gerald Everett, who signed a two-year deal in the offseason.

Entering his 19th season, Lewis has seen it all at the NFL level and will be a valuable veteran for Williams and the Bears to lean on. He also has the chance to make history by breaking Jason Witten’s record for most games played by a tight end. He needs to play just four games to pass him. Given that Lewis played in all 17 games in 2023, that feat certainly seems achievable.

Bears OC Shane Waldron explores Caleb Williams’ NFL adjustment

Shane Waldron is acutely aware of how Caleb Williams needs to respond to the speed of pro football.

On this edition of The Daily Score, Mark Grote shares his takeaways from recent press conferences with Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, defensive coordinator Eric Washington, and special teams coordinator Richard Hightower. Waldron discussed former USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams’ adjustment from college to the NFL.

Bears Wire wrote this about Shane Waldron:

“The Bears are looking for an offensive coordinator who is able to design an offense around players rather than force a system on them, which was the problem with Getsy (and Matt Nagy before him). Waldron is not only an experienced playcaller, but he’s proven he can design an offense around multiple quarterbacks. Waldron has worked with several high-level quarterbacks during his time with the Rams and Seahawks, all with different skillsets. Whether it was traditional pocket passers like Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford or mobile quarterbacks like Russell Wilson and Geno Smith, Waldron understood how to build an offense around the specific quarterback in place.”

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