Bears under enormous pressure to get next hire right

Waldron was hired in January 2024 and inherited a promising situation. Chicago had wide receiver DJ Moore and two first-round picks, which it used on quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Rome Odunze.

Waldron failed to capitalize on that promise, however. Instead, the Bears offense has been a disaster, with ESPN's Adam Schefter noting it hasn't scored a touchdown in its last 23 possessions.

The Bears (4-5) are 24th in scoring (19.4 points per game) and 30th in total offense (277.7 yards per game).

In Week 10, Chicago lost at home to the Patriots, 19-3, scoring its fewest points in a game since a 38-3 loss to the Buccaneers on Oct. 24, 2021.

After Waldron's firing, offensive passing game coordinator Thomas Brown was promoted to offensive coordinator. If Brown doesn't get the full-time job, Williams will have (at least) three offensive play callers in his first two NFL seasons.

He might also have a different head coach. 

Chicago Tribune writer Dan Wiederer noted that Waldron "is the eighth member of head coach Matt Eberflus' staff to be fired or resign in the past 14 months."

The Bears can only fire so many people before Eberflus is held accountable.

Whether Eberflus is allowed to hire a third offensive coordinator in what would be his fourth season as Bears head coach or the front office makes a more substantial change by firing Eberflus, Chicago's next hire could be the defining moment of the Williams era.

If Eberflus isn't retained following the season, the Bears will need to hire a head coach before considering an offensive coordinator.

Regardless of how much change occurs, Williams' next coach will be under enormous pressure to make things work with the 2022 Heisman winner.

The Bears have been caught in a losing cycle for nearly the past decade, staggering their quarterback and head coach rotation.

In 2017, the Bears selected Mitchell Trubisky, and former head coach John Fox was fired after the season. Chicago hired Matt Nagy, who coached Trubisky for three seasons before the Bears chose Justin Fields with the No. 11 pick of the 2021 NFL Draft. Nagy coached Fields for one season before being fired and replaced by Eberflus, who coached Fields for two seasons (2022-23).

Chicago has watched this story unfold before, and it doesn't end well.

The only way to break the pattern is for the Bears to ace their next hire.