Luke Getsy's job search proved he wasn't solely to blame for Bears' struggles

The faction of Bears fans that believed offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was the sole reason for the team’s failed passing attack were proven wrong in the days following Getsy’s firing.

The Patriots called to interview him for their offensive coordinator job. So did the Saints. Earlier this month, the Raiders hired him to call plays despite the fact that Getsy had never met head coach Antonio Pierce before their job interview.

The implication of Getsy’s league-wide popularity is that teams pointed to quarterback Justin Fields as one reason — if not the reason — why the Bears had the league’s fewest passing yards from 2022-23. That’s different than the narrative pushed by Fields absolutists who argue in favor of keeping him instead of drafting USC’s Caleb Williams No. 1 overall.

Not that Getsy is blameless. He’s got a second chance — what he does with it is up to him.

After the Raiders introduced him as their new coordinator Friday, Getsy praised Fields the way he did in two seasons at Halas Hall. He touted what he saw as “tremendous growth” in Fields despite the fact the third-year quarterback ranked 26^th in passer rating, 22^nd in passing yards and 39^th in completion percentage among quarterbacks who threw at least 100 passes last year.

“Like I said when I was there, he’s one of the best human beings I’ve ever got to work with,” Getsy said. “The mentality that he brought every day, the consistent approach, the kind of man that he is. It was a blessing to work with him. He was someone that just came to work every day to get better and better, and I think he’ll continue to do so.”

The question is, where? The Raiders need a quarterback — Stevenson High alum Aidan O’Connell is the nominal starter and Rolling Meadows’ Jimmy Garoppolo is expected to be cut after being busted for performance-enhancing drugs. Getsy’s praise of Fields notwithstanding, it’d be hard to see the Raiders signing up for another pairing of the two without assurances from Getsy the results would be different.

Getsy said there’s not one particular skillset he’s seeking in his next quarterback but called the ability to escape pressure mandatory in the modern game, pointing to the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and the 49ers’ Brock Purdy.

“Kinda like anything, you’d like to have a little bit of everything [in a player],” he said. “In this game, I think it’s really important that you have some type of escapability. It doesn’t mean you have to be as dynamic as Justin was, but you have to have escapability.

“You have to be able to have the second chance and create the extended play, whether it’s just sliding in the pocket or extending it with your feet outside the pocket. All those things are really important. It was on display in the Super Bowl.”

Now comes the hard part. The Raiders are drafting 13^th, and only four first-round quarterbacks chosen after No. 13 overall since 2000 have made a Pro Bowl since 200.

Getsy is ready to start studying college quarterbacks. He’s already reflected on what went right, and wrong, in Chicago. He had to find answers — he knew he’d be asked about it in his job interviews.

“You have to grow from it and try to do better, whether how good it was or not-so-good it was,” he said. “Of course there was time for reflection. But the competitive spirit in me was getting back into it, and ready to rock and roll.”