The Bears are sticking with Shane Waldron as their play-caller despite the struggles

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 he would not remove Waldron as the team’s offensive play-caller on 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 are collectively as a group, offensively and defensively,” Eberflus said. “We will go through that process here today and tomorrow and implement that plan on Wednesday.”

Waldron is in his first season as Chicago’s offensive coordinator after spending the past three years calling plays for the Seahawks. The Bears also have an experienced player on staff in Thomas Brown, the team’s passing game coordinator who was previously the offensive coordinator for the Panthers in 2023 and collegiately at Miami (Fla.) from 2016-18.

Sunday’s loss was 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’re doing a good job of utilizing our talents and skills and the overall, fundamental execution of our plan,” Eberflus said. “And we’ve got to make sure we do that moving forward, and we’ll be putting that plan into action 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 about the development of the No. 1 overall pick continue to arise as the Bears’ offense struggles to produce consistent production with 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 his confidence in Waldron, who was appointed to replace Luke Getsy in January, is “high” after eight games.

“Our season is over. We won some, we lost some,” Eberflus said. “We’re sitting at 4-4. That’s where we are right now and it’s important that we focus on this week. That’s all we can control and do a better job of putting our guys in positions as coaches to be successful and that’s ultimately my job and the coordinator’s job secondly, so it’s important To do a great job with the position coaches, collaborate with the players and put those guys in a position to succeed.