Bear Digest

No More Mind Fog for Bears Offense Under the 'Great Communicator'

Everything is more clear this year with assignments for players within the Bears offense after coaches got their marching orders straight from coordinator Shane Waldron.

Gene Chamberlain

Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron gets a point across at the post-minicamp press conference.
Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron gets a point across at the post-minicamp press conference. / Photo | Chicago Bears video
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It's the second time it's been said this offseason and not by players manning the same position groups.

Bears players are feeling more at ease with their assignments within the Shane Waldron offense, at least compared to the way the way they found it in Luke Getsy's offense.

During a talk with Fox Sports' Carmen Vitali at his offseason workouts, Bears guard Teven Jenkins noted a difference in the way everything is being taught to linemen.

"I feel more continuity this year," Jenkins said. "There's more explanation behind what we're doing instead of like last year, where some things were gray in some areas."

Jenkins was speaking about the way the linemen are being taught the offense, but line coach Chris Morgan was in place last year, as well. He's one of the two offensive coaches to stay in place after last season. 

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The assistant coaches are helping teach the offense to the players and apparently coordinator Shane Waldron is making the assignments and how it's to be done more clear to the assistants.

When tight end Cole Kmet met with reporters after the end of minicamp in June, he expressed something similar.

"Yeah, I think he's a great teacher," Kmet said of Waldron. "Just the way he installs (the offense), it's clear and concise. There's not a  lot of gray area with things and he wants things a certain way and he wants it done a certain way.

"So I think guys have been really receptive to that and I think so far we've got some things to clean up but execution of the offense is pretty clean for it being the first time in Shane’s offense this offseason."

If players feel they know the assignments and are learning the offense without going through mind fog, they're definitely heading in the right direction toward proper execution when camp begins.

Waldron appears to have a knack and emphasis on communication within the coaching staff, which helps make everything more clear to players.

He has several assistants working with Caleb Williams and during minicamp underscored the emphasis on communication among members of the staff in working with Williams and all the QBs.

"I think that starts with the communication amongst ourselves within the staff, whether it’s with (passing game coordinator) Thomas Brown or (QB coahc) Kerry Joseph, how we’re working there, with (QB assistants) Robbie Picazo or Ryan Griffin, different guys that are going to be around the quarterback," Waldron said. "But knowing there is still a voice that’s coming from me that everyone is going to echo.

"And they’ve done such a great job of being in sync, knowing who has different elements of the offense but then also making sure we’ll have great discussions during staff meetings. We’ll have great discussions as we’re watching film. I would hope that not everybody agrees with each other every single second of a meeting because that would mean everyone is just saying yes to say yes. So we’ll have good, tough conversations with the goal being what’s right for our offense this year. And then when we break those meetings as a staff and go join the players, we’re all on the one unified front right there and presenting the same message to all our players."

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.