The Chicago Bears' general manager Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus are working to update their coaching staff.
After firing five coaches earlier this month, including offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, the Bears started the offseason looking for new offensive and defensive coordinators and position coaches for the quarterbacks, wide receivers and running backs.
The Bears officially revealed the hiring of former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron as their new offensive coordinator on Tuesday. A deal had been reported Monday to be in the works.
Eberflus stated, "This was a very thorough search, but in the end I'm thankful 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 expressed in a statement: "I appreciate this opportunity given to me by Coach Eberflus and Ryan Pole. We can't wait to get to work at a franchise with such a storied history and passionate fan base."
Here’s how the offensive coordinator hiring process unfolded.
Jan. 18
The Bears are expected to interview former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury, ESPN reported.
The rundown: Kingsbury, 44, spent this past season as a senior offensive analyst and quarterbacks coach at USC, where potential No. 1 draft pick Caleb Williams played. The Bears are getting deeper into their evaluations of Williams as they determine whether to draft a quarterback with the No. 1 pick this spring. Williams threw for 3,633 yards with 30 touchdowns and five interceptions in 12 games in 2023.
In four seasons as the Cardinals coach, Kingsbury was 28-37-1. The Cardinals fired him last January following a 4-13 season after the team made the playoffs a year earlier behind quarterback Kyler Murray. Before that, Kingsbury was the head coach for six seasons at Texas Tech, where he coached quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
He also was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Texas A&M and Houston. Kingsbury played quarterback at Texas Tech and in the NFL, NFL Europe and CFL.
The Bears are interviewing Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported.
The rundown: Robinson, 37, has been part of Sean McVay’s coaching staff in Los Angeles for the last five seasons and in his current role the last two years. In 2021, Robinson also served as Matthew Stafford’s quarterbacks coach as Stafford matched a career high with 41 touchdown passes and led the Rams to a Super Bowl title.
This season Robinson contributed to a passing offense that ranked in the top 10 in yards and yards per play.
Robinson was a standout quarterback at Oklahoma State and a seventh-round selection by the New England Patriots in 2010. He spent four seasons in the NFL with the Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals.
The Bears have requested an interview with Philadelphia Eagles senior offensive assistant Marcus Brady, ESPN said.
Here's the summary: In 2023, at the age of 44, Brady worked with Nick Sirianni's Eagles team after spending five years with the Indianapolis Colts.
He was on the same Colts coaching staff as Bears coach Matt Eberflus for four years under Frank Reich, but on the opposite side of the ball from Eberflus. With the Colts, Brady went from assistant quarterbacks coach in 2018 to quarterbacks coach in 2019-20, and then to offensive coordinator in 2021-22 after Sirianni went to the Eagles. In 2021, the Colts had one of the best running games in the league, but in 2022, they ranked 27th in total yards per game with 311.6.
Brady also coached in the Canadian Football League for nine seasons.
Jan. 17
The Bears are talking with Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, The Athletic reported.
Here's the summary: At 37, Brown finished his first year as the Panthers coordinator after three seasons with the Rams, where he won a Super Bowl under McVay.
In 2023, the Panthers struggled with rookie quarterback Bryce Young, averaging a league-worst 265.3 yards per game. While with the Rams, Brown coached running backs and then tight ends, and was also the assistant head coach in his last two seasons.
The former Georgia running back was a running backs coach in college for eight seasons at Wisconsin, Georgia, South Carolina and Miami, where he also served as the offensive coordinator. Brown is also set to interview with the Tennessee Titans for their head coaching position.
Jan. 15
The Bears talked with former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman, NFL Network's Peter Schrager reported.
Here's the summary: Roman, 51, is an experienced NFL coach who was the offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills, and Ravens. One of his achievements is designing the Ravens' offense around dual-threat quarterback Lamar Jackson, who had an MVP season in 2019. The Ravens had the best rushing offense in the league that year.
However, Roman and the Ravens parted ways after the 2022 season due to a decline in the offense. The Ravens went from averaging 33.2 points in 2019 to 20.6 in 2022.
Jan. 12
The Bears interviewed Seahawks quarterbacks coach Greg Olson, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Here's the summary: Olson, 60, has been a college and NFL quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator since 1990. He has extensive experience as an NFL offensive coordinator, holding the position with the Lions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, St. Louis Rams, Oakland and Las Vegas Raiders in separate stints, as well as with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Most recently, he was the Seahawks quarterbacks coach in 2023 and a senior offensive assistant with the Los Angeles Rams in 2022. Olson was the Bears quarterbacks coach in 2003.
The Bears planned to interview Kentucky offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Liam Coen, CBS Sports reported.
Here's the summary: At 38, Coen has one season of NFL offensive coordinator experience with the Rams in 2022, although McVay called the plays. He was an assistant wide receivers coach and assistant quarterbacks coach with the Rams from 2018-20.
Besides that, Coen has been a college quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator since 2010 at Brown, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine and most recently Kentucky in 2021 and 2023.
Jan. 11
The Bears intended to speak with 49ers passing game coordinator Klint Kubiak, ESPN stated.
The summary: Kubiak, 36, is in his first season with the 49ers under Kyle Shanahan. Before that, he was the Denver Broncos passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2022 for Russell Wilson and their QBs coach from 2016-18.
Kubiak, the son of longtime NFL coach Gary Kubiak, also worked for the Minnesota Vikings as offensive coordinator in 2021 and quarterbacks coach from 2019-20, working with Kirk Cousins.
Jan. 10
The Bears asked for an interview with Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, NFL Network reported.
The summary: Waldron, 44, was the Seahawks offensive coordinator the last three seasons, helping quarterback Geno Smith to a comeback season in 2022. Before that, he spent four seasons with the Rams as passing game coordinator, quarterbacks coach and tight ends coach under McVay.
He additionally worked as an offensive assistant with the Patriots (2008-09) and Washington (2016) and worked in operations with the Patriots early in his career. He has coached in college, high school and the UFL.
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