And the winner is . . . Shane Waldron.
On Jan. 10, Waldron was in limbo and likely out of a job as the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator after Pete Carroll was nudged out as their head coach. Today, the 44-year-old Waldron has the opportunity of his 20-year coaching career as the offensive coordinator of the Bears.
Every offensive coordinator hired by the Bears in recent memory has had a similar opportunity: Give this chronically quarterback-challenged, offense-challenged franchise a real NFL offense, and you almost can pick your head-coaching job. Adam Gase parlayed Jay Cutler’s career-best 92.3 passer rating in his first season as coordinator in 2015 into the Dolphins’ head-coaching job, even though Cutler’s rating was only 16th in the league and the Bears’ offense ranked 23rd in points. That’s how low the bar is here.
Waldron, however, has an opportunity for success that exceeds the challenge of producing a productive offense with the Bears — even with a rookie quarterback. Caleb Williams not only is the No. 1overall pick and considered one of the best quarterback prospects of the last 10 years, but he also has weapons that immediately put the wind at his back.
Wide receivers D.J. Moore and Keenan Allen have a combined 10 seasons with 1,000 or more receiving yards. Rookie Rome Odunze was the No. 9 overall pick. Tight end Cole Kmet is coming off his best season. Running back D’Andre Swift made the Pro Bowl with the Eagles last season.
It’s up to Waldron, who called plays as the Seahawks’ coordinator the last three seasons after spending four seasons under Sean McVay with the Rams, to put it all together. If he can make a Pro Bowl quarterback out of journeyman Geno Smith, as he did with the Seahawks, there’s no telling what he can do with a talent such as Williams, right?
One thing’s for sure: If it doesn’t work out, there won’t be much of a Justin Fields-or-Luke Getsy debate about whether the quarterback, coordinator or supporting cast gets the blame. No matter which way it goes, Waldron won’t be here for long.
2. Caleb Williams’ reputation went from one extreme to the other through the draft process.
In January, he was a prima donna with a helicopter dad, was too into his feelings and too devoted to his brand, might prefer playing for the Commanders, might not want to play for the Bears, might want an ownership share of the team he plays for and — worst of all — was a sore loser who blew off the media after losing to UCLA.
By Sunday, he was Mr. Wonderful, an engaging, confident, polished and playful personality who is comfortable in the limelight, made a new best friend in Rome Odunze, popularized the Bear Claw and quickly welcomed his newest teammates. He showed off two traits you love in a quarterback — quick-thinking and clever — when he told punter Tory Taylor, the Bears’ fourth-round draft pick, ‘‘You’re not going to punt much here.’’
We’ll know much more about Williams as he settles in and faces the inevitable adversity that reveals his true character. Eventually, what’s best for him will conflict with what’s best for the Bears. Then we’ll see how much of a team player he is. But so far, so good.
3. On the flip side of that, Fields’ stock — or the perception of his stock — dropped precipitously through the process. When this started, there was a real debate about whether the Bears should trade the No. 1 overall pick and keep Fields or use the No. 1 pick on a quarterback and trade Fields for perhaps a second-round pick.
(And that wasn’t just from the lunatic fringe of social media, either. NBC Sports’ Peter King, in his final ‘‘Football Morning In America’’ column on Feb. 26, thought the Bears were going to trade the pick based on ‘‘the way the wind is blowing.’’)
As it turns out, drafting Williams was a no-brainer, and Fields only netted a conditional sixth-round draft pick. But general manager Ryan Poles got it right.
4. The selection of Williams as the No. 1 pick comes with a bonus: There will be no apprenticeship/mentor plan in training camp. Williams will get first-team reps from the start.
A rookie quarterback starting from the get-go comes with its own issues. But the apprentice plans for Mitch Trubisky (behind Mike Glennon) and Fields (behind Andy Dalton), while well-intentioned, proved problematic. In this era, it’s an awkward dynamic that needs everything going nearly perfect not to be detrimental.
5. “We’re still in the first year of this offense’’ will not be an excuse for the Bears in 2024. The bar has been set at C.J. Stroud and the 2023 Texans, who improved from 30th to 13th in points scored with Stroud as a rookie, Bobby Slowik as a first-time coordinator, Nico Collins, Tank Dell and Darren Schultz as his top targets and an offensive line with four new starters next to All-Pro tackle Laremy Tunsil.
6. Expectations also will be high for Rome Odunze, who will have to share catches with Moore and Allen but also should benefit by having them on the field. The five receivers selected in the top 10 of the draft in the last three years have averaged 80 receptions for 1,071 yards, 63.8 yards per game and 6.4 touchdowns as a rookie.
The list: the Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase (81 catches, 1,455 yards, 13 touchdowns), the Dolphins’ Jaylen Waddle (104, 1,015, six) and the Eagles’ DeVonta Smith (64, 916, five) in 2021 and the Falcons’ Drake London (72, 866, four) and the Jets’ Garrett Wilson (83, 1,103, four) in 2022.
The upshot: It’s not a coincidence that Chase had by far the biggest production and also by far the best quarterback (Joe Burrow), so . . .
7. The additions of Williams, Allen and Odunze figure to spice up the offense/defense training-camp battles that became contentious, albeit one-sided, last year (‘‘Y’all soft!’’). The Bears’ defense developed an edge in camp, and the offense never really responded. That’s not likely to happen with this group. Camp altercations more likely will be a good sign than a red flag. That’s progress.
8. The draft is Poles’ show, but head coach Matt Eberflus’ comment on the draft process was particularly noteworthy: ‘‘We’re getting better every single year as we go,’’ he said.
We’ll see about that. But Poles seemed to find a groove, even with only five picks. Former GM Ryan Pace also had five picks in his third draft in 2017 and not only chose quarterback Mitch Trubisky (No. 2 overall) over Patrick Mahomes (No. 10) and Deshaun Watson (No. 12) but also tight end Adam Shaheen (second round, No. 45) over George Kittle (fifth round, No. 146).
The Bears did get safety Eddie Jackson and running back Tarik Cohen in the fourth round, but they whiffed on small-school guard Jordan Morgan in the fifth.
9. Timing Is Everything Department: Trubisky’s wide receivers in his first start with the Bears: Markus Wheaton, Tre McBride, Kendall Wright, Josh Bellamy, Deonte Thompson.
Fields’ top receivers in his first start with the Bears: Allen Robinson, Darnell Mooney, Damiere Byrd, Marquise Goodwin.
Williams’ receivers in his first start with the Bears (projected): Moore, Allen, Odunze, Tyler Scott, Dante Pettis/Velus Jones.
10. Bear-ometer — 11-6: vs. Packers (W); at Packers (L); vs. Lions (W); at Lions (L); vs. Vikings (W); at Vikings (W); vs. Rams (L); at Cardinals (W); vs. Seahawks (L); at 49ers (L); vs. Jaguars (W); vs. Titans (W); at Texans (L); vs. Panthers (W); at Colts (W); vs. Patriots (W); at Commanders (W).
