The Chicago Bears are working on a deal to hire Shane Waldron to be their new offensive coordinator, a source confirmed Monday morning.
Waldron has been the Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator for the last three seasons and helped quarterback Geno Smith to a comeback season in 2022. Before that, Waldron spent four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams as the passing game coordinator, quarterbacks coach and tight ends coach.
NFL Network first reported the news of the Bears planning to hire Waldron.
The Bears reportedly interviewed at least nine candidates for the opening, including San Francisco 49ers passing game coordinator Klint Kubiak and former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury. Waldron was the first candidate reported.
Waldron replaces offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, whom coach Matt Eberflus fired earlier this month after two seasons at the helm of the Bears offense. Eberflus said then that he first wanted to find an offensive coordinator who was a “great teacher.”
“That’s important because you know he has to coach the coaches to coach the position, and I think that’s the No. 1 trait of any great coach,” Eberflus said. “You have to be able to have the innovation to really look at the players that you have and be able to help enhance and put those guys in position to succeed and to get explosives and to move the ball down the field. So that is the most important thing, the teacher part of it, and then the innovation part of it and the creativity is going to be the biggest part.”
Waldron will take over a Bears offense that has a major question to answer this offseason: What to do at quarterback. Bears general manager Ryan Poles must decide whether to use the No. 1 draft pick to select a quarterback — potentially USC’s Caleb Williams — or to stick with Justin Fields, the Bears starter for the last three seasons.
Poles said he expected to ask candidates for plans to coach many different kinds of quarterbacks.
“I love it because what are you going to do for these four different types of quarterbacks,” Poles said. “I want to hear that, and I think it’s really important to hear the versatility and adaptability in their teaching, in the way they implement a plan, scheme, adjust. I think it actually makes it pretty dynamic in terms of the interview process.”
The Seahawks staff is looking for new jobs after the organization and coach Pete Caroll parted ways after a 14-year union.
Under Waldron, who called plays, the Seahawks offense was 21st with 322.9 yards per game in 2023 but 14th with 230 passing yards per game. The Seahawks averaged 21.4 points per game, ranked 17th. That was down from 2022, when Smith won Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year after throwing for 4,282 yards, 30 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. The Seahawks averaged 351.5 yards (13th) and 23.9 points (ninth) per game.
Waldron also worked with quarterbacks Russell Wilson with the Seahawks in 2021 and Jared Goff while with the Rams.
Waldron served as an offensive assistant with the New England Patriots (2008-09) and Washington (2016) and worked in operations with the Patriots early in his career. He also has coached in college, high school and the UFL.
The Bears must hire coaches for quarterbacks, wide receivers and running backs. Offensive line coach Chris Morgan and tight ends coach Jim Dray remain on the staff.
