As the Bears change play callers midseason, coach Matt Eberflus believes new offensive coordinator Thomas Brown can shift their course “significantly.” Eberflus fired Waldron on Tuesday after the Bears lost 19-3 to the Patriots and replaced him with Brown.
Eberflus said his players voiced frustration over how the offense was going, but did not demand Waldron’s dismissal.
“They want to be more effective, more productive, score points for our football team,” Eberflus said. “It was always in a winning way and a respectful way. It was good to see that they really wanted to get better. It just didn’t happen [under Waldron] in a timely manner.”
The Bears have scored 27 points over their last three games and have gone 23 consecutive possessions without a touchdown. They are 24th in points (19.4 per game) and 30th in yardage (277.7 per game) heading into their home game Sunday against the Packers.
There’s a lot to fix as Brown steps in, but he said Wednesday he was undaunted by the challenge and has high expectations.
“I put no limitations on our success,” Brown said.
The Bears are on a three-game losing streak and have fallen to 4-5, two games behind the Packers for third place in the NFC North. The Packers have won 10 in a row against the Bears, including an 0-4 start in the rivalry for Eberflus.