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Courtney Cronin, ESPN Staff WriterNov 4, 2024, 02:35 PM ET
- Courtney Cronin joined ESPN in 2017, originally covering the Minnesota Vikings before switching to the Chicago Bears in 2022. Courtney is a frequent panelist on Around the Horn and host of Best Week Ever on ESPN Radio. She also co-hosts The Chicago Bears Podcast on ESPN 1000. She previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News as a multimedia sports journalist.
CHICAGO — Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron will continue to call plays for the Bears despite Chicago’s offensive struggles in back-to-back losses at Washington and Arizona.
Bears coach Matt Eberflus confirmed that he would not remove Waldron as the team’s offensive play caller Monday, less than 24 hours after Chicago’s 29-9 loss to the Cardinals.
“We’re looking to find answers, and that’s where we’re at collectively as a group, offense and defense,” Eberflus said. “We’ll go through that process here today, tomorrow and implement that plan on Wednesday.”
Waldron is in his first season as Chicago’s offensive coordinator after spending the previous three years calling plays for the Seahawks. The Bears also have an experienced playcaller on staff in Thomas Brown, the team’s passing game coordinator who previously was the offensive coordinator for the Panthers in 2023 and collegiately at Miami (Florida) from 2016-18.
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Sunday’s loss marked the first game this season in which the Bears failed to score a touchdown. Chicago totaled 241 yards of offense and relied on kicker Cairo Santos to score its nine points. The Bears were 3-of-14 on third down and averaged 3.4 yards per play.
“The changes we’re going to make is we’re going to look inward and make sure we do a good job of utilizing our talents and our skill and really just general, basic execution of our plan,” Eberflus said. “And we have to make sure we’re doing that going forward, and we’ll put that plan into place here in the next 48 hours.”
Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams completed 22 of 41 passes for 217 yards, no touchdowns and no turnovers with a 68.9 passer rating. Questions over the No. 1 overall pick’s development continue to be raised as the Bears’ offense has struggled to consistently generate production with its top skill players.
Rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze finished with 104 yards on five catches against the Cardinals while Keenan Allen had four catches for 36 yards on 10 targets and DJ Moore had four receptions for 33 on nine targets. Tight end Cole Kmet, who is tied for a team-high three touchdown receptions, was not targeted in Arizona.
Eberflus said that his confidence in Waldron, who was hired to replace Luke Getsy in January, is “high” after eight games.
“Our season’s been. we’ve won some and we’ve lost some,” Eberflus said. “We’re sitting at 4-4. Right now that’s where we are and it’s important that we focus on this week. That’s all we can control and doing a better job of putting our guys in position as coaches to be successful and that’s ultimately my job and the coordinator’s job secondly. So it’s important that we do a great job of that with the position coaches, partnering up with players and putting those guys in position to succeed.”
