The Chicago Bears are in the mist of major coaching shakeups as they prepare for one of the most important decisions in recent franchise history with the NFL Draft looming.
They must decide whether to keep QB Justin Fields and hope the hiring of Shane Waldron — an innovative offensive mind and former Seattle Seahawks OC — as their new offensive coordinator will help take Fields’ game to the next level.
Or they will move on from the former Ohio State signal caller who has had his ups and downs in Chicago but has lacked stability when it comes to coaches and just finally got a true dynamic No. 1 WR in DJ Moore in 2023. In that case, all signs would point to the Chicago Bears taking Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick in April’s Draft.
Pairing Williams with Waldron feels like a smart move and the likely plan going forward, but only time will tell.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Bears are seeking a new coordinator as Bears head coach Matt Eberflus handled the the defensive coordinator responsibilities for the team after Alan Williams resigned a couple of weeks into the season in 2023..
Chicago went from a sub-par unit to one of the top defenses in the NFL after a mid-season trade for elite pass rusher Montez Sweat, but Eberflus clearly wants to focus on solely being a head coach in the most pivotal year of his tenure with the Bears.
One key question is will any of these major moves help propel the Bears past their rival Packers, who have won the last nine-consecutive regular season meetings between the two NFC North teams?
Maybe, maybe not. But one Bears writer believes a significant move Green Bay just made will be a direct bolster for Chicago moving forward.
Chicago Bears Writer Explains Why Packers Firing Joe Barry Is Massive News For NFC North Rival
While most Packers fans are rejoicing over the firing of defensive coordinator Joe Barry earlier this week,, who was constantly scrutinized for his defense giving up massive plays, wasting talent and getting out-coached by opposing offensive coordinators, one Sports Illustrated writer believes the move is the best ting that could have happened for the Bears.
Here’s what Gene Chamberlain, who covers the Bears for SI said about the Packers firing of Barry being a major benefit for Chicago moving forward.
Barry’s Packers defenses beat the Bears six straight times. Sure, Aaron Rodgers was there in four of those. Aaron Rodgers didn’t make tackles or cover anyone.
Joe Barry was Packers defensive coordinator from 2021-23.
The Chicago Bears scored more than 20 points against the Packers once in those six games. They averaged only 17 points for the six games. Teams don’t usually win games in today’s NFL if they average 17 points. The teams in the NFL this year who didn’t average more than 17 were the Jets, Patriots, Giants and Panthers. There weren’t a lot of wins between that group, just 29.
The 17-9 Bears defeat at Lambeau Field to finish this season was the closest they came to beating the Packers with Barry as defensive coordinator.
If this ended here, it might be easy to chalk it up to Justin Fields because he was Bears quarterback for all six games. Or maybe you could blame it simply on an inept Bears offense, although it was two different Bears offensive coordinators and head coaches.
However, Barry was the Washington Redskins defensive coordinator in 2015 and 2016 and they beat the Bears in both of those seasons.
So he has an eight-game personal winning streak over the Bears, against three different coaches.
Chamberlain makes a good point, and even suggested the Chicago Bears should hire Joe Barry in some capacity. Only time will tell if the Packers can keep the streak alive with whoever they bring in to lead their defense moving forward.
