The Chicago Bears made Shane Waldron their new offensive coordinator this week. It wasn’t a huge surprise. He comes from a similar offensive system to what the Bears had with Luke Getsy, so there could be some continuity. More importantly, he comes in with playcalling experience after three productive years in Seattle. People really want to know what this means for Chicago’s quarterback dilemma. The fanbase remains divided. Some want to keep Justin Fields. Others want to select somebody with the #1 overall pick, be it Caleb Williams or Drake Maye. It’s here where former quarterback Dan Orlovsky made an interesting point.
He appeared on the Rich Eisen Show to talk about the Bears’ decision to hire Waldron and what they’ll do at quarterback. Orlovsky believes they’re drafting a quarterback for two reasons. First is the statements from GM Ryan Poles, where he supported Fields but never gave a clear answer on his status. As for Waldron, Orlovsky made a key point about the assistant coach. He’s already seen how to develop a young quarterback before. He worked with Sean McVay in Los Angeles when they took over the Rams in 2017.
He watched how Jared Goff went from disappointing rookie to Pro Bowler, eventually getting the team to a Super Bowl in 2018. Waldron demonstrated some of that same ability with Geno Smith in Seattle.
Dan Orlovsky is correct. Waldron didn’t join the Bears to coach Fields.
That may sound harsh, but it’s the truth. A big part of the appeal for taking the offensive coordinator job was the chance to work with Williams. Don’t forget Waldron has lived on the west coast for years. He is almost certainly well aware of the USC star’s exploits. One can bet his imagination is already flooding with ways to exploit Williams’ special talents. He will have a plan for how to maximize what the kid does best while working to improve what he doesn’t. Waldron knows if he gets a young QB going in Chicago, teams will be lining up to make him a head coach.
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Maybe the Bears swerve everybody and go in a different direction. Maybe they prefer Drake Maye or even Jayden Daniels. Yet Dan Orlovsky is correct. A big reason Chicago brought Waldron in is his experience with developing young players, especially quarterbacks. Teaching and communicating. Those were the words Eberflus used when describing why he hired the young coordinator. We’ll see if the decision works out.
