Belief Is Chicago Bears Offensive Woes Come From Rift On Coaching Staff

The Chicago Bears offense is somehow worse than it was last year. That is impossible to fathom after all the moves they made this off-season. Two talented new receivers, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze. An explosive running back in D’Andre Swift. A deeper offensive line. Even with a rookie quarterback, it should not look this bad. What happened? Injuries have played a part, especially up front. However, most agree many of the problems stem from a baffling situation with the coaching staff.

Adam Hoge of CHGO mentioned something alarming in his recent column. Given how disjointed things look, suspicions are rising that the problems stem from a rift amongst the coaching staff. This would explain why the unit lacks an identity and can’t decide what it wants to run.

The Bears didn’t even show up in Arizona, and yes, that told us a lot. But if there’s anything I’ve learned in 14 seasons covering the NFL, it’s that a win can fix a lot — or at least put a temporary band-aid on cracks in the foundation…

…From what I see on film, Shane Waldron’s offensive scheme has zero identity. In the run game, there appears to be an awkward struggle between gap schemes that don’t fit the personnel, and zone schemes, which the Bears ran the past two years. It’s a mess. And that’s usually a result of coaches haggling over what a team should be running.

In hindsight, the Chicago Bears created this situation themselves.

Head coach Matt Eberflus had the right idea by firing Luke Getsy. He clearly wasn’t up to the task, as his brief foray in Las Vegas hammered home. The problem is that Eberflus may have created the perfect situation for division when he constructed the new staff. While he brought in Shane Waldron as offensive coordinator, he didn’t give the new assistant full control of who to put on his support staff. Specifically, he decided to keep offensive line coach Chris Morgan. Not only that, but the Bears promoted him to run game coordinator.

Not only that, but the Bears also brought in Thomas Brown as passing game coordinator. He and Waldron did work together before, but that was only for one year in 2020. When a team throws together a staff like this, it can sometimes lead to competing voices on what an offense should be. Morgan may want to be a more run-oriented team like the Chicago Bears were the past two years. Waldron is known more as a pass-first guy. While specifics aren’t available, it appears there is a disconnect somewhere.

Based on what Brad Biggs mentioned last week, it sounds like players might be siding with whoever is competing with Waldron. Either way, this doesn’t bode well for the Bears’ immediate future.