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The Chicago Bears parted ways with offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on Tuesday, less than 10 months after hiring him in the first place. Chicago’s offense has been a dumpster fire, ranking 30th in the NFL in yards per game and just 23rd in points per game.
But there was no way the Bears could have seen this coming, right? Wrong. As it turns out, one of Waldron’s former players with the Seattle Seahawks knew exactly what Chicago was signing up for, and it isn’t pretty.
Don’t forget when Jaxon Smith-Njigba was asked about Shane Waldron 🫠 pic.twitter.com/zvfpmt131S
— Kendall Valenzuela (@kvalenzuela17) November 12, 2024
Jaxon Smith-Njigba Couldn’t Find Anything Good To Say About Shane Waldron
Smith-Njigba gave an interview the week of the Super Bowl and was asked what he could tell Bears fans about Waldron. But rather than giving a glowing review, or even just some generic platitudes, Smith-Njigba gave an extremely damning answer.
“Umm, uhh…this is live?” he first asked. “Good look to y’all. I mean, he’s a great person, great offensive coordinator. I was very lucky to have him my first year. Learned a lot from him. I think him and (since-traded QB) Justin (Fields) will mesh well and adding more guys around him, I think it will be great.”
Smith-Njigba eventually got around to saying something vaguely encouraging about Waldron. But it was far from a glowing endorsement, and his silence at first was deafening.
Ultimately, it appears that Waldron lost the locker room, which led to his firing. But things don’t get any more encouraging for Bears fans with his replacement, either. Chicago promoted passing game coordinator Thomas Brown to the role of offensive coordinator. Brown made his debut as an offensive coordinator last season for the Carolina Panthers. He proceeded to produce the worst offense in the league.
Now he finds himself in a remarkably similar situation and the Bears expect a different result. The logic is so flawed that Kyle Brandt nearly short-circuited on Tuesday’s episode of Good Morning Football.
Who knows, maybe Brown can turn things around. Maybe Bryce Young and the Panthers were so damaged that no coach could have saved them. But if you’re a Chicago fan, you have to be asking what the heck the team is doing, and how general manager Ryan Poles is still employed.