Tag: shane waldron

Bears to interview Ike Hilliard for wide receivers coach

The Bears will interview Ike Hilliard for their wide receivers coach position.

The Chicago Bears have found their offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator in Shane Waldron and Eric Washington, respectively, and they’re continuing to fill out some vacant offensive assistant positions.

The Bears are interviewing veteran wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard for their wide receivers coach opening, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Hilliard, a former NFL wide receiver for the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has 14 years of coaching experience between teh collegiate and NFL level. He’s served as assistant wide receivers coach with the Miami Dolphins (2011) and wide receivers coach with Washington (2012, 2014-19), Buffalo Bills (2013) and Pittsburgh Steelers (2020-21). Hilliard most recently served as wide receivers coach and interim co-offensive coordinator with Auburn.

Hilliard previously worked with Waldron in Washington when Hilliard was wide receivers coach and Waldron as offensive quality control coach in 2016.

Chicago is also interviewing Los Angeles Chargers wide receivers coach Chris Beatty for the same job.

Waldron has already found his quarterbacks coach in Kerry Joseph, who previously served as the assistant quarterbacks coach with the Seattle Seahawks. On the opposite side of the ball, the Bears hired Eric Washington as their defensive coordinator.

Bears to interview Chargers’ Chris Beatty for wide receivers coach

Bears OC Shane Waldron is filling out his offensive staff. Chicago is set to interview the Chargers’ Chris Beatty for wide receivers coach.

The Chicago Bears found their new offensive coordinator in Shane Waldron, and he’s continuing to fill out his offensive staff.

The Bears are set to interview Los Angeles Chargers wide receivers coach Chris Beatty for the same position in Chicago, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

Beatty boasts 26 years of experience, most of it coming at the collegiate level and as a wide receivers coach. He made the jump to the NFL with the Chargers as their wide receivers coach, a role he’s served since 2021. Beatty worked with the likes of Mike Williams and Keenan Allen in Los Angeles, and he’ll now get to work with DJ Moore, Tyler Scott and a still-to-be-determined receiving corps.

Waldron has already found his quarterbacks coach in Kerry Joseph, who previously served as the assistant quarterbacks coach with the Seattle Seahawks. On the opposite side of the ball, the Bears hired Eric Washington as their defensive coordinator.

Bears hiring Seahawks assistant Kerry Joseph as quarterbacks coach

Former Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron will be bringing at least one assistant from Seattle with him to Chicago.

Former Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron will be bringing at least one assistant from Seattle with him to Chicago.

According to a report by Tom Pelissero at NFL Network, assistant quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph is getting hired by the Bears to be their new QBs coach.

Joseph had been on Seattle’s staff since the 2020 season, filling a few different roles during that time. Older fans may recall he was also a backup DB for the Seahawks from 1998-2001.

In Chicago Joseph will be challenged with developing a young quarterback – either Justin Fields or someone they pick in the 2024 NFL draft. While the results have been disappointing, Fields has not been given a proper supporting cast or a quality playcaller yet and his potential hasn’t even come close to being fulfilled.

Given the choice, we would stick with Fields and either draft WR1 Marvin Harrison Jr. or trade down, but there’s a strong argument to start over with another QB on a fresh rookie contract. The consensus No. 1 pick in this class is expected to be USC quarterback Caleb Williams.

More Seahawks Wire stories

2024 NFL mock draft: Seattle lands Heisman winner at No. 16

Geno Smith posts about disrespectful TL, Seahawks fans respond

Seahawks trade down twice, go Washington heavy in this mock

Sanjay Lal removes himself from consideration for Bears job

Sanjay Lal interviewed for a position on the Bears coaching staff earlier in the week but removed himself from consideration on Friday.

The Chicago Bears are beginning to round out the coaching staff on the offensive side of the ball this week, but one coach who interviewed for a position won’t be joining them.

Former Seattle Seahawks passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal has removed himself from consideration for a job with the Bears, according to ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler. Lal was one of a few former Seattle coaches who interviewed for a position earlier this week, but he will now look for a job elsewhere.

Lal has held many NFL jobs throughout his coaching career, beginning in the mid-2000s with the Raiders. He’s primarily worked as a wide receivers coach and took on the role of passing game coordinator over the last two seasons with the Seahawks. Lal may have been interviewing for a similar job with the Bears, and it’s possible a higher position is available to him on another team. For example, the Carolina Panthers hired Dave Canales to be their head coach on Thursday, who used to work with Lal, and there could be a fit there.

Regardless, the Bears will need to look elsewhere for help as they build their staff. They hired Shane Waldron as their offensive coordinator earlier in the week and are bringing in former Seahawks assistant quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph as the quarterback coach.

Bears hiring Kerry Joseph as quarterbacks coach

Bears OC Shane Waldron has started filling out his offensive staff. First up: Kerry Joseph has been hired as QBs coach.

The Chicago Bears found their new offensive coordinator in Shane Waldron, and he’s hard at work assembling his coaching staff.

The Bears have hired Kerry Joseph as their quarterbacks coach, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Joseph served as the Seattle Seahawks’ assistant quarterbacks coach for two years under Waldron. It’s the first hire for Waldron.

Joseph is a former CFL quarterback and NFL safety. He got his coaching start with the New Orleans Saints as a training camp intern in 2014 before serving as co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach at McNeese State. Joseph, who played as a safety for Seattle, joined the Seahawks organization in 2020 as an offensive assistant. He was promoted to assistant wide receivers coach in 2021 and then assistant quarterbacks coach in 2022.

The Bears have an important decision to make at quarterback this offseason — stick with Justin Fields or draft Caleb Williams with the first overall pick. This move doesn’t move the needle one way or the other, much like the Waldron hire.

Regardless, this hire is an important one, as it’ll be Waldron and Joseph responsible for either turning Fields’ career around or developing potential generational talent, Williams.

Matt Eberflus defended Justin Fields in Bears OC interviews

While there was an appeal about potentially coaching Caleb Williams, Matt Eberflus defended Justin Fields during Bears OC interviews.

The Chicago Bears have found their new offensive coordinator in Shane Waldron, an experienced playcaller with experience coaching and designing offenses around multiple quarterbacks.

Chicago cast a wide net of candidates in their search for Luke Getsy’s replacement, and they wasted no time in making a move.

MMQB’s Albert Breer shared some insider information about the Bears’ offensive coordinator interview process, where they were ultimately able to nab the highly-sought-after candidate in Waldron.

Despite the uncertainty at Halas Hall beyond 2024 — if things go south next season — many questioned the desirability of the OC position. But considering the opportunity to call plays (with a defensive-minded head coach) and the allure of coaching a gifted quarterback made it appealing.

Breer said he heard from candidates that the appeal of coaching USC quarterback Caleb Williams attracted them to the job — but head coach Matt Eberflus also praised Justin Fields during the process.

Of course, the chance, potentially, to coach USC’s Caleb Williams was something mentioned to me as a drawing card by candidates for the job (though Eberflus did defend Justin Fields in the interviews, as I understand it).

Given Waldron ultimately got the job, his experience has shown he can design an offense around different quarterbacks. So whether Chicago winds up sticking with Fields or drafting Williams, Waldron will be ready.

Bears officially hire Shane Waldron as offensive coordinator

The Bears made the hiring of new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron official.

The Chicago Bears have officially hired Shane Waldron as offensive coordinator, the team announced Tuesday. Waldron replaces Luke Getsy, who was fired after two seasons.

The Bears cast a wide net of candidates for the vacancy, which included a number of experienced play callers and young coaches on the rise. Ultimately, Waldron proved to be the best fit for head coach Matt Eberflus.

“We are excited to add Shane to our coaching staff,” Eberflus said, via ChicagoBears.com. “I also want to thank all the candidates we spoke to throughout the interview process. This was a very exhaustive search, but in the end I’m grateful the journey led us to Shane. He is a great teacher and communicator with a diverse coaching background among some of the game’s most elite head coaches. I look forward to partnering with him as we build out the rest of the staff and get him started here.”

Waldron brings a lot of experience to the table, which includes three years calling plays for Seattle. 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.

“I appreciate this opportunity given to me by Coach Eberflus and Ryan Poles,” Waldron said, via ChicagoBears.com. “We can’t wait to get to work at a franchise with such a storied history and passionate fan base.”

Waldron is reportedly already hard at work assembling his staff. According to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, Waldron is setting up interviews with some former Seahawks coaches — Chad Morton, Sanjay Lal and Kerry Joseph, among others — for staff positions.

Shane Waldron to interview 3 Seahawks assistant coaches with Bears

According to a report by Jonathan Jones at CBS, Waldron is setting up interviews with three Seahawks assistants.

Shane Waldron is settling in quick with the Chicago Bears. Yesterday we learned that the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive coordinator for the last three seasons is leaving town and taking the same position with Chicago. Most Seattle fans don’t seem to mind Waldron leaving, but the coaching exits won’t stop there. In fact, it sounds like Waldron could be poaching several assistants from the Seahawks.

According to a report by Jonathan Jones at CBS, Waldron is setting up interviews with three assistants: run game coordinator/running backs coach Chad Morton, passing coordinator/wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal and assistant quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph.

After the news broke that Pete Carroll was being removed as head coach, Jones reported that Seahawks assistants would be free to seek other jobs around the league. So far there hasn’t been much reported interest outside of Waldron, though. The Browns have interviewed offensive line coach Andy Dickerson for their open OC position, but that’s it.

As for the Seahawks’ search, general manager John Schneider is being deliberate, as expected. He’s setting up a second round of interviews with five head coach candidates, most of them defensive assistants.

More Seahawks Wire stories

Mel Kiper picks a quarterback for Seattle in his first 2024 mock

2024 mock draft: Five quarterbacks come off the board in Round 1

Bears OC Shane Waldron already working on filling out his staff

New Bears OC Shane Waldron is already setting up interviews with Seahawks coaches as he fills out his offensive staff.

The Chicago Bears have found their new offensive coordinator in former Seattle Seahawks OC Shane Waldron, and he’s wasting no time filling out his offensive coaching staff.

According to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, Waldron is setting up interviews with some former Seahawks co-workers and coaches — Chad Morton, Sanjay Lal and Kerry Joseph, among others — for staff positions.

Morton served as the Seahawks run game coordinator and running backs coach; Lal served as Seattle’s passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach; and Joseph has served as the Seahawks’ assistant wide receivers coach and later assistant quarterbacks coach under Waldron.

The assumption is those candidates would serve in the same roles: Morton as running backs coach (potentially also run game coordinator), Lal as wide receivers coach (potentially also pass game coordinator) and Joseph as quarterbacks coach or assistant quarterbacks coach.

The Bears also interviewed Seahawks quarterbacks coach Greg Olson for their offensive coordinator vacancy. There’s no word if Olson would following Waldron to Chicago in the same role (perhaps with a passing game coordinator promotion).

But Olson will likely explore the potential of joining another team as their offensive coordinator, especially with so many openings around the NFL.