CHGO Digest: No more Mr. Nice Guy

Good morning, friends!

This can go one of two ways for new offensive coordinator Thomas Brown and the Chicago Bears.

1. It doesn’t work.

Plain and simple. Shane Waldron wasn’t the only issue with the offense, and firing him was more or less a last-ditch effort for Matt Eberflus to remain the head coach in Chicago beyond 2024. Brown at least gives the offense new life, but at 4-5 with an uphill battle the rest of the way, it might be too little too late. This is, unfortunately – but realistically, the most likely outcome.

2. It works.

It wouldn’t be the first time that a head coach firing a coordinator midseason to save their own butt actually worked. Just ask Sean McDermott and the Buffalo Bills about last year. McDermott fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey at 5-5 and promoted quarterbacks coach Joe Brady to the OC role. The Bills finished the year 11-6 with the No. 2 seed in the AFC. So it can happen, it’s just not super likely.

But if there’s one quarterback who can do it in Chicago, maybe it’s the guy we’ve been thinking about as the franchise’s savior since the moment the Bears secured the No. 1 overall pick via the Panthers.

Now we’re in a really interesting spot… what happens if it does work? I guess we can cross that bridge if we somehow get to it.

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— Patrick Norton

Shane Waldron’s downfall

Michael Scott, meet Shane Waldron. Their weaknesses are actually strengths. They work too hard, they care too much, and sometimes, they can be too invested in their job.

“I would say just probably he was too nice of a guy,” Keenan Allen said on Wednesday at Halas Hall. “I think during OTAs, training camp, he kind of fell into a trap of letting things go, not holding people accountable. Obviously, those things lead to a slippery slope.

I’d probably say it had more to do with the 23 consecutive drives without a touchdown since the end of the Commanders game in Week 8, but “too nice” works, too.

• ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler asked running back Travis Homer, who played for Waldron in Seattle, about Allen’s observation. Homer said, “I know a lot of guys in Seattle, they responded well to how it was. I guess some guys here, they don’t really like that too much.”

• This wasn’t the first time this season Waldron was accused of being too soft on his players. After the Bears’ Week 3 loss to the Colts, Marcedes Lewis told reporters, “I think, mainly, just continue to be vocal about the things that he sees and don’t feel like he can’t point guys out. Don’t feel like you can’t coach us. I want to be coached. I want to be great. This is not, you know, this is not for play. This is our job. We understand that. It’s a [high-stress], production-based business and we’ve all got to be doing the same things or everybody gets fired. Ego is supposed to be left at the door.”

• Members of the offense thought that message resonated with the now-fired coordinator, and the next three weeks showed significant improvement in the unit’s on-field production. However, for as good as those three weeks were against the Rams, Panthers and Jaguars, the last three against the Commanders, Cardinals and Patriots have been equally as bad, if not worse.

• Thomas Brown brings a different voice to the role, but also perspective as a former player, something Waldron was not. Lewis called Brown “a dude” on Wednesday, saying, “Everybody in here loves TB. Really good dude. Great energy. And he’s a dude, right? That should bring some juice to the offense.”

🏈 Nicholas Moreano on what new offensive coordinator Thomas Brown brings to the table for the Chicago Bears.

Farewell, Nate Davis.

Don’t let your back seize up on the way out. The Bears cut the offensive lineman on Wednesday morning less than two full seasons after signing a three-year deal worth up to $30 million with Chicago in 2023.

Davis was signed as a veteran presence for a younger offensive line, but it never worked out for the former Tennessee Titan. The highest-paid offensive lineman on the roster started just 13 out of a possible 26 games while in Chicago.

• Davis hasn’t started since losing the job after Week 2 against the Houston Texans but could’ve received playing time last Sunday against the Patriots due to Chicago’s depleted health on the line. However, Davis reported on Sunday to the staff that his back had tightened up on him, which prompted Matt Eberflus to send him home.

• Eberflus said on Wednesday after the team released the guard, “We felt it was best for him and for the organization – for the team right now to do that.” When Thomas Brown was asked if he was a part of the decision to release Davis, the new offensive coordinator said, “I’ll let Flus handle any questions about Nate Davis.”

• Davis was an unreliable participant in training camp and certainly replaceable on the offensive line. Even as injuries piled up for Chicago, Davis’ number wasn’t called after being benched earlier in the season. Doug Kramer, Chicago’s third-string center and pseudo fullback, received snaps at left guard against Washington ahead of Davis. Ryan Bates’ return from IR made Davis expendable, and arriving on Sunday unable to dress sealed his fate with the Bears.

• The team signed Jake Curhan, who filled in for Matt Pryor briefly on Sunday, to the active roster on Wednesday. Chicago also signed 2023 third-round center Ricky Stromberg to the practice squad. The 24-year-old played in just four games with the Washington Commanders last season before he was released with an injury settlement in August.

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