Apparently, the Chicago Bears’ firing of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron may have been overdue.
The Bears’ offense has struggled, going two straight games without a touchdown, and Waldron paid the price this week. He was fired and replaced by Thomas Brown.
While there were schematic issues with the Bears’ offense under Waldron, there was more under the hood. Some Bears players broadcast some of that on Wednesday.
Receiver DJ Moore has been critical of Waldron in the past. He questioned a bad play call that contributed to a loss to the Washington Commanders, when there was a goal-line handoff to offensive lineman Doug Kramer and it became fumbled. Later, Moore hinted that head coach Matt Eberflus asked him to keep any criticism internal.
Because Waldron was no longer in that home, Moore said suggestions to Waldron were considered too late to be effective.
“When we wanted a phone call, it was like we were running late,” Moore said when meeting the media, via WGN Radio’s Kevin Wells. “Or when we wanted to make adjustments and we waited until halftime to make it. And then we don’t get the same look.”
Bears receiver Keenan Allen said the issues went deeper than that, going back to the offseason.
“Too nice of a guy,” Allen said, according to Kalyn Kahler of ESPN, via Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune. “OTAs, camp, we’ve fallen into the trap of letting things go and not holding people accountable, and that’s a slippery slope. . Just professionalism and doing things the right way from the start.”
Moore told the Chicago media that some frustrations were shared, presumably with Eberflus, but that he did not want Waldron fired.
Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, whose struggles were a big factor in the decision to fire Waldon, stayed away from any controversy.
“I don’t get to choose decisions, nor do I get to choose whether decisions are good, bad or indifferent,” Williams said, via NFL.com. “My job is to listen, and do my job from there.”
The Bears needed to make a change. The offense didn’t perform well enough, and Williams, the No. 1 overall draft pick, fell into bad habits. That was clear. There were some behind-the-scenes issues that made the move even more inevitable.
