Shane Waldron hired as the new Bears OC

[adam]

 

[adam]

This is a massive win for the Bears. I think there were 13-14 open OC positions, and Waldron was clearly a top 3 candidate and not even expected to be available. For him to become available out of the blue, the Bears to interview him so fast, then still interview 8 others, was impressive. They left no stone unturned. Looking at his pedigree compared to Getsy's, this is night and day. The offense is going to tangibly improve next year across the board regardless of who the QB is. Seattle had Metcalf, Lockett, and JSN, so I expect Poles to get Shane some new toys to mirror that setup. Maybe sign a higher end FA WR and draft a WR in the top 10 maybe?

This may not seem like a big deal, but with him in the building, the Bears don't lose that much time without an OC for offseason prep, player acquisition, etc.

Also, is this the best OC hire for the Bears EVER? Honestly. Here are the previous names: Getsy, Lazor, Helfrich, Loggains, Gase, Kromer, TIce, Martz, Turner, Shea, Shoop, Crowton, Landry, Hughes, Marchibroda, Meyer, Gillman, and Moss. So Ed Hughes was the OC for the 85 Bears, Ron Turner was the OC for the Bears last SB appearance. It seems like Waldron comes in at that level already based on how bad the other names are lol.

 

[adam]

Another thing this does is it makes Seattle worse. Just like the Carolina trade and the Sweat trade. Now this is three teams Poles has made worse while making the Bears better. 

[adam]

Waldron revitalized Smith's career in Seattle, but also worked at the QB Collective, where Caleb Williams is training for the draft. So this is going to be interesting. Will Waldron want to hang his hat on Fields or a rookie QB? How much say will he have in the process compared to trade compensation for either side?

Which coaches will he bring to Chicago with him?

[Stinger226]

I read Greg Olsen would come as the QB coach, same job he had in Seattle. That's the two most important positions filled right away.

[adam]

56 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

I read Greg Olsen would come as the QB coach, same job he had in Seattle. That's the two most important positions filled right away.

That would be great, and they need an upgrade at WR coach too. 

One other comment, if the Bears defense struggles, I could see a scenario where Waldron is promoted to HC and retained. 

[Mongo3451]

My guess is that he spends the next couple of weeks looking at team film.  Matching the play called with the execution is the critical factor in assessing performance. He will see what Justin saw and didn't see.  After that, I would assume he reviews it with Justin.  If the decision hasn't already been made, Waldren may be the swing vote.  Of course, that's after the combine.

[Pixote]

Brushing up on my knowledge of our new OC Waldron, I was encouraged with these two quotes from an article on WindyCityGridiron.com:

Quote

Perhaps most promisingly, Waldron has proven adept at helping quarterbacks notorious for holding onto the ball, like Russell Wilson and Geno Smith, get throws off more quickly and play in rhythm. That track record could serve the Bears as well regardless of which direction they go at quarterback, as Justin Fields and Caleb Williams, for example, both have high time-to-throw numbers.

Quote

Waldron had both Geno Smith and Russell Wilson getting the ball out faster.

Geno’s time to throw (TTT) was above 3s his first two years starting with the Jets. With Waldron: 2.79 and 2.73.

Russ is a career 3s guy. With Waldron in 2021: 2.78.

 

[adam]

29 minutes ago, Pixote said:

Brushing up on my knowledge of our new OC Waldron, I was encouraged with these two quotes from an article on WindyCityGridiron.com:

 

Great info, thanks!

[adam]

It's awesome that the most sought after OC candidate picked the Bears over every other available job. That speaks volumes about the culture and roster, especially coming from an outside perspective.

[Stinger226]

I think they got input from Waldron on what he would do with Justin and any of the rookies. They clearly have not made a decision on QB without fully venting all the rookies, that would be dumb . Having a competent play caller will help any QB starting in 2024.

[Alaskan Grizzly]

4 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

I think they got input from Waldron on what he would do with Justin and any of the rookies. They clearly have not made a decision on QB without fully venting all the rookies, that would be dumb . Having a competent play caller will help any QB starting in 2024.

Makes the alleged ‘west coast’ tour that more intriguing. Speculation was that they were hot to get to talk with Kingsbury (which they may have) but I suspect also to work the background on Williams a little.  And since we’re already on the West coast, why not offer a deal to Waldron and do a check on a few other draft candidates?  (Nix and Penix)?  

Kingsbury is still in the running for Raiders OC who also have a need at QB and hold the #13 spot overall.  

 

[BearFan PHX]

3 hours ago, Pixote said:

Brushing up on my knowledge of our new OC Waldron, I was encouraged with these two quotes from an article on WindyCityGridiron.com:

 

great info, thanks!

[adam]

49 minutes ago, BearFan PHX said:

great info, thanks!

Hey, no copying! 🤣

3 hours ago, adam said:

Great info, thanks!

 

[BearFan PHX]

24 minutes ago, adam said:

Hey, no copying! 🤣

 

hahaha I saw that after I posted!

[DABEARSDABOMB]

I think this is a really solid hire. I'm not saying he's the greatest OC in the world - but he's experience and has a solid track-record. He worked with a HOF HC in Carroll and obviously Pete had his views but Shane ran the show from play calling on down and so we are getting a seasoned individual who knows what to do. I love with Pix quoted in terms of him trying to speed up decision/making & process time and clearly Geno Smith made huge leaps forward from his Jets days (how much of that is due to Waldron vs. his staff vs. Geno's hard work - who knows - but on paper its a positive).

I also don't think he's the next Sean McVay or Shanny or Reid - but I think that is okay.  Having a really solid and stable guy who knows what he is doing is great - whether it is looking to get more out of Justin or looking to build a solid structure for development around a rookie QB.  I'm also presuming we will see Greg Olsen emerge as the QB coach - again, I didn't like Olsen as an OC - but what I love about Olsen is him and Waldron worked together - they have a built in trust, so I suspect that means the risk that you have too many voices gets reduced (that isn't to say you don't want different perspectives - you do - but you want them grounded in similar principles otherwise you kind of get to information overload which I think negatively impacted Bryce Young with what Panthers did this year but also back to Eagles with Carson Wentz).

Bottom Line: They are hiring a respectable, proven OC, who is also young and should have credibility to go get quality offensive assistants too.    

[CrackerDog]

I haven’t seen anything that says this is a done deal yet so let’s be cautious.  I remember some guy named McGinnis we thought we had hired and the Bears screwed that up.   So……. Let’s be certain before we get too excited.  
 

[BearFan PHX]

9 minutes ago, CrackerDog said:

I haven’t seen anything that says this is a done deal yet so let’s be cautious.  I remember some guy named McGinnis we thought we had hired and the Bears screwed that up.   So……. Let’s be certain before we get too excited.  
 

I keep thinking the same thing. Not expecting any trouble, but I'd like to hear its signed. I hate when they leak this kind of info before its finalized, it seems like a small but unneeded risk,

[BearFan PHX]

Ok, so Waldron runs a camp called the QB Collective where he works with quarterbacks on getting their game NFL ready. Apparently, Caleb Williams is working with them now. And given that he has to learn to tighten up his game, this is a promising idea - the guy Caleb chose to work with would be our OC. It certainly would mean Caleb would be comfortable working with him.

But here's a juicy tidbit: our current QB has also struggled with tightening up his pocket passing, and Waldron would be a great hire for that too.

And guess who's picture is on the front page of the QB Collective? That's right - Justin Fields from when he went there!!

I dunno what any of it means, it could support one theory and it could support the opposite.

But I hope Waldron is our guy, because if Caleb is choosing to work with him, then hes the right guy, and he will know who he wants to work with too: Fields, Williams or someone else.

https://qbcollective.com/

[BearFan PHX]

Ech, nevermind. The articles I read made it sound like Waldron runs the place - he's just one of the coaches that work there. Its a good list though:

Mike Shanahan
Kyle Shanahan
Sean McVey
Matt LaFluer
Mike McDaniel
Kevin Stefanski

I guess this is like a Shanahan tree graduate school. At the very least those coaches will be seeing things in a similar way. And they get extra work with Qbs, so its like a private extended scouting combine for anyone who is inside. Drake Maye has worked with them too.

[DABEARSDABOMB]

7 minutes ago, BearFan PHX said:

Ok, so Waldron runs a camp called the QB Collective where he works with quarterbacks on getting their game NFL ready. Apparently, Caleb Williams is working with them now. And given that he has to learn to tighten up his game, this is a promising idea - the guy Caleb chose to work with would be our OC. It certainly would mean Caleb would be comfortable working with him.

But here's a juicy tidbit: our current QB has also struggled with tightening up his pocket passing, and Waldron would be a great hire for that too.

And guess who's picture is on the front page of the QB Collective? That's right - Justin Fields from when he went there!!

I dunno what any of it means, it could support one theory and it could support the opposite.

But I hope Waldron is our guy, because if Caleb is choosing to work with him, then hes the right guy, and he will know who he wants to work with too: Fields, Williams or someone else.

https://qbcollective.com/

I was about to post something similar - I think good thing is - Waldron knows a lot of people and has been engaged in this more advanced QB work for a bit / been on the leading edge (whether that makes him great, who knows). I also think you can't read into this hiring as any indication on what and where the front office is leaning in regards to QB - which quite frankly is the right answer, given they are months away from the draft at this point.  

[Stinger226]

Shane has a good history but we won't know what he's capable  of until we see him in games. I liked that he worked with veterans and made them better. When says a lot about his football IQ. It's different people running the Bears now  so none of our past history carries any merit. When Warren let Stein go , beloved by the McCaskeys, we now know none of the same old Bears applies.

Clearly now we know that this job was rated a good job to come to, not a bad place to avoid. The fact that Poles is loyal to Flus tells coaches they get respect here.

If Olson follows to the Bears, they will be up to speed quicker and the offense will be able to rock out of the gate.

 

[Stinger226]

Does anyone here follow Greg Gabriel on X? He called out Dan Bernstein on the SCORE for saying  ( no one any good would come here) when we arguably got one of the top 3 choices for OC available. Bernstein thinks anyone that doesn't agree with his opinion is a dumbass. Almost a!ways wrong. He said Poles wouldn't bring Flus back. He thinks their drafting Williams also, probably wrong about that too.

[CrackerDog]

24 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

Does anyone here follow Greg Gabriel on X? He called out Dan Bernstein on the SCORE for saying  ( no one any good would come here) when we arguably got one of the top 3 choices for OC available. Bernstein thinks anyone that doesn't agree with his opinion is a dumbass. Almost a!ways wrong. He said Poles wouldn't bring Flus back. He thinks their drafting Williams also, probably wrong about that too.

Bernstein is one of the reasons I don’t listen to sports talk radio anymore.  Although there are many more reasons.  

[adam]

31 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

Does anyone here follow Greg Gabriel on X? He called out Dan Bernstein on the SCORE for saying  ( no one any good would come here) when we arguably got one of the top 3 choices for OC available. Bernstein thinks anyone that doesn't agree with his opinion is a dumbass. Almost a!ways wrong. He said Poles wouldn't bring Flus back. He thinks their drafting Williams also, probably wrong about that too.

I thought it was Parkins?

Yes, I follow Greg. I actually got into a little kerfuffle with him a few weeks ago. I simply said what he said was also a narrative, which is true. He did not like it and said it was one of the stupidest statements that he has ever read, which is hilarious to me. What do you think:

 

I think it is naive to think that Poles doesn't have scenarios or courses of actions already developed for every possible scenario. Basically what trade would he accept from every team in the league he would trade with. What that trade would look like for #1, #9, for every pick, and for some players, to include Fields. He can't wait until someone calls asking. He has an asking price. On the flip side, he has to have a general idea on which players he would be interesting in trading for and what he is willing to give up in a trade for that player (like Sweat, and Claypool). He is not going to call them up blindly, then figure out if their offer works or not out of the blue. That is ridiculous.

So Poles has a Plan A, let's say it is draft Williams, and take no less than a 3rd for Fields. Ask for a 1st, but if there is only one offer, take no less than a 3rd. However, at the same time, he has a value for #1. If someone comes to him with a trade proposal that blows his valuation out the window, then he moves to Plan B. It could be the other way around. If someone comes to him with a 1st rounder for Fields, can he pass that up? I just think Poles already has these things mapped out, and is working with other teams, agents, etc to figure out what the best option is for the next few months. Greg makes it seem like Poles doesn't know what he is going to do. I call BS on that. If someone comes to him with a crazy offer today, he has to be able to respond and react to it. They may say here is the offer, take it or leave it, we need to know by the end of the day or the offer is gone, we want max predictability. Poles isn't going to magically start figuring things out, he is already going to have the parameters in place.