The Chicago Bears knew they had to make a change at offensive coordinator once the 2024 off-season began. After two years, it was apparent Luke Getsy lacked certain qualities necessary for what they needed. After a thorough search spanning weeks, head coach Matt Eberflus and GM Ryan Poles pinpointed Shane Waldron as his replacement. It felt like a quality hire at the time. Waldron had three productive seasons running the Seattle Seahawks offense, getting quality years from Russell Wilson and Geno Smith.
When the Bears brought Waldron aboard, most felt it clearly indicated the team wished to maintain an offensive scheme similar to the Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay tree. That classic outside-zone rushing attack mixed with play action and other crafty alignments. Waldron learned that style for years in Los Angeles. However, it might not be what he has planned for the Bears. Insider Adam Caplan of Pro Football Network hears the new coordinator plans to deploy a different philosophy.
Offensively, keep in mind that GM Ryan Poles did not draft the underrated Darnell Mooney and selected WR Tyler Scott in the fourth round in last year’s draft. Both are seen as similar types of players in terms of skill set, with Scott having a slightly larger body frame.
We’re told Scott was cross-trained to play the slot (“F” position in the West Coast offense) and the “Z” (move position) last year, and they’re going to be running a West Coast scheme with new OC Shane Waldron.
Shane Waldron has a plan if he’s pushing a West Coast system.
The primary goal of that scheme was to utilize timing and route-running to create a diverse passing attack that quickly got the ball out of the quarterback’s hand. A three-step drop or five-step drop and the ball is out. It was meant to protect the QB from excessive hits while forcing the defense to defend all areas of the field since the system employed lots of slants and swing passes. If executed properly, this opens up opportunities to run the ball and, by extension, more play action shots down the field.
Some current teams that employ variations of this offense include the Kansas City Chiefs (Andy Reid), Cincinnati Bengals (Zac Taylor), Denver Broncos (Sean Payton), and Philadelphia Eagles (Kellen Moore). Each of those names has something in common. They have established track records of elevating young quarterbacks.
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It was one of the reasons Bill Walsh created the offense in the first place. He wanted to make life easier for his quarterback. That is why guys like Ken Anderson, Joe Montana, Steve Young, Brett Favre, Rich Gannon, Donovan McNabb, Drew Brees, and Patrick Mahomes have done so well over the years. With the Bears expected to draft a QB at #1 overall in April, having Shane Waldron implement such a system suddenly makes a lot of sense.
@Webs This is the EXACT reason the Ravens let Greg Roman go, got Todd Monken, and Lamar Jackson played 19 games. Meanwhile, Luke Getsy, who didn’t design any quick passing, is hired by Las Vegas because he had one of the top running teams in the NFL two years running. So did Greg Roman when he was OC in Baltimore with Lamar. Getsy’s run game offense was heavily skewed by J. Fields 30+%(?), but now Getsy has Aidan O’Connell. Wonder how that is going to go. If you want a passing game, I would strongly advise coaching and coordinating .… Read more »
@Tred Thanks. The best receiver they had who could play the “slot” was Moore. That was my point. Mooney nor Scott nor St. Brown were ever coached to play “slot.” That means the coordinator and the coaches didn’t coach it. “Slot” is difficult because it is exact route running, creating separation in smaller spaces, good hands (because every ball that is popped in the air is surrounded by defenders, an understanding of the scramble drill, and finally it takes courage, because the likelihood of getting popped is greater than running down the edge and getting held. Getsy didn’t call for… Read more »
So nobody actually asked Waldron about this topic then? Got it.
The article states, “The primary goal of that scheme was to utilize timing and route-running to create a diverse passing attack that quickly got the ball out of the quarterback’s hand. A three-step drop or five-step drop and the ball is out. It was meant to protect the QB from excessive hits while forcing the defense to defend all areas of the field since the system employed lots of slants and swing passes. If executed properly, this opens up opportunities to run the ball and, by extension, more play action shots down the field.” It goes on to say that… Read more »
@PoochPest – good posts. I agree on 90% of it. My only issue is – who did they have in the slot that was reliable? I’ve rewatched every game a couple of times, and it’s like 90% of the time no one steps up but Kmet and Moore on receiving.