LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) — The morning after each game, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus meets with a player-led leadership council to discuss the state of the team.
Eberflus opened the Bears’ captaincy up to eight players because he values the pulse of his locker room. This season, those day-after meetings have taken on a different tone. They've served as an open forum in which players have called into question the team's direction and this coaching staff's guidance, in particular that of now-former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.
Neither Eberflus nor the players view any of it as disrespectful dialogue. Rather, it has served as the necessary candor to lead sweeping change, which came Tuesday morning – about 24 hours after the latest leadership council meeting – with Waldron's firing just nine games into his Bears tenure.
“Not my place to make that type of call or even that suggestion,” said Bears tight end Cole Kmet, a team captain and member of the leadership council. “But I think we’ve all voiced our frustrations at times with things because the results haven’t been there. To act like we’re all satisfied with things going on, that’s not the truth. But like I said, we’ve always been solutions-driven upstairs with coach (Eberflus) when we’ve wanted to talk and just trying to find those solutions.
“Coach made his decision. Some sort of change needed to be made to be able to provide a spark in the locker room, and hopefully we’ll see that this weekend.”
The Bears (4-5) are looking to snap their three-game losing slide Sunday when they host the Packers (6-3) at Soldier Field. It will be a key inflection point in a spiraling season. Chicago will welcome in its archrival while having failed to score a touchdown on 23 straight offensive possessions.
Eberflus understood the daunting nature of firing Waldron as it relates to his own job security. He's 14-29 in three seasons as Bears head coach. His tenure has featured eight coaching changes on his staff, including the abrupt exits of defensive coordinator Alan Williams and running backs coach David Walker during the 2023 season due to personal conduct violations.
As part of being retained by the Bears back in January, Eberflus led an overhaul of the offensive staff. That included firing former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and appointing Waldron as his replacement.
A defensive-minded head coach, Eberflus is now working with his third offensive coordinator in less than three full seasons. It’s an indictment of Eberflus, which he understands.
"It's right there where it is," Eberflus said. "Third play-caller. And I take full accountability for that. I take full responsibility for that. And it's got to get better, it's got to get better. The details of creativity have to improve, and it has to improve this week."
The Bears ranked 30th in the NFL in total offense and 24th in scoring under Waldron's watch this season. While the results were glaringly poor considering the talent on offense, Waldron’s greatest problem was a disconnect with his players.
On the morning of Sept. 23, the Bears’ leadership council sought to establish a more direct line of communication with Waldron and expressed a willingness to be coached harder. Those players did so after a disappointing 21-16 loss to the Colts in which Waldron’s poor play-calling in a key goal-to-go situation haunted the Bears. No call came under more scrutiny than a fourth-and-goal speed option to running back D’Andre Swift from the 1-yard line that lost 12 yards.
“Don’t feel like you can’t point guys out, from the oldest guy in the room – being me – to the youngest guy," 19-year veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis said following that meeting with Waldron. "Don’t feel like you can’t coach. I want to be coached, I want to be great. This is not for play. This is our job. We understand that it’s a high-stress and production-based business, and we all got to be doing the same things or everybody gets fired. Ego is supposed to be left at the door. That’s what it’s about. He’s very receptive to that.
“Nobody is sensitive in here. We want to win games just as bad as you do, and it’s a collaborative effort. This is not Pop Warner. We work together side-by-side to get things done. That’s really what my message was.”
Ultimately, the message was received but not properly processed. Success for the Bears' offense was fleeting, and players never achieved the dynamic with Waldron that they desired.
After the Bears' 18-15 loss to the Commanders on a last-second Hail Mary on Oct. 27, Waldron took ownership for his miscues in a game filled with them. At the top of the list was a misguided handoff attempt to offensive lineman Doug Kramer at the 1-yard line, a play that resulted in a costly goal-line fumble with the Bears trailing 12-7 in the fourth quarter. One week later, the Bears lost 29-9 to the Cardinals and seemed to have bottomed out – or so it appeared.
Then the Bears posted just 142 net yards and no touchdowns in an ugly 19-3 home loss to the scuffling Patriots this past Sunday. It was a potential get-right game. Instead, everything went wrong, and it left Eberflus with little choice as it related to Waldron's job status.
On Monday, one week after publicly supporting Waldron, Eberflus said "there will be changes." He met with general manager Ryan Poles, president/CEO Kevin Warren and chairman George McCaskey while also processing the input from the player leaders. Then on Tuesday morning at Halas Hall, Eberflus called Waldron into his office and fired him.
“I mean, it’s the business,” Bears receiver DJ Moore said. “We weren’t putting out the results that we needed to. That being said, we did let go of Shane. That was shocking. I don’t think anybody really asked for him to be gone. We expressed our frustration, but never to have somebody’s livelihood taken away.”
The Bears have turned to passing game coordinator Thomas Brown as their new offensive coordinator. Eberflus believes Brown can change the scheme “significantly” through his play-calling, while players see Brown as a more demanding leader for their offense.
While the Bears hope the coordinator change will spark their offense and reignite their season, they also understand the significance of it for 22-year-old quarterback Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Williams prepared to work alongside Waldron even before he was drafted in late April. He committed to learning Waldron's scheme and connecting with him after Williams worked closely with his college head coach Lincoln Riley for three years.
Now nine games into Williams’ NFL career, Waldron is out and he must adapt with a new offensive coordinator.
"It’s tough," Williams said. "Just because you work for however many months it’s been. I kind of knew Shane before being drafted here because of the process and stuff. Trying to build that relationship, building that relationship, (then) the guy you’ve been trying to get on the same page with isn’t here anymore."
Prior to this three-game losing streak, the Bears reeled off three consecutive victories with a suddenly potent offense leading the way. Chicago posted 95 points in those three games, over which Williams threw seven touchdown passes.
It appeared everything was beginning to click for the Bears. Waldron was accepting the feedback of his players, Williams was thriving and a productive offense was complementing Chicago's stout defense.
Given the dispiriting nature of their sudden slide, the Bears felt the urgency to improve. Eberflus understood he's on the hot seat and that doubt was emerging inside the locker room. The sentiments of the team matched the uninspiring results on the field.
Following their latest candid meeting Monday and a firing Tuesday, the Bears hope that change for the better begins Sunday.
“We’re just trying to find solutions,” Kmet said. “I feel like we’ve done a lot of talking. We actually have to go do it out there.”
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.