Shane Waldron has been fired as the Bears' offensive coordinator

CHICAGO (AP) — Shane Waldron has been fired less than 10 months after being hired as the Chicago Bears' offensive coordinator.

The Bears announced the firing on Tuesday, a day after head coach Matt Eberflus promised “changes” and “adjustments” for the struggling Bears. Passing game coordinator Thomas Brown was promoted to offensive coordinator.

“After evaluating our entire operation, I concluded that it was in the best interest of our team to take the direction of our offense in a different direction,” Eberflus said in a statement released by the team. “This decision was well thought out and made consciously and respectfully. I would like to thank Shane for his efforts and wish him all the best for the future.”

The Bears haven't changed their offensive coordinators midseason since Perry Moss became Chicago's first designated OC in 1970.

Waldron had come under a lot of scrutiny in Chicago due to the overall performance of the offense and rookie quarterback Caleb Williams' recent struggles.

The Bears (4-5) have lost three straight games while scoring just 27 points overall and are averaging just 277.6 yards per game this season, the third-lowest in the NFL.

Waldron, 45, was signed by the Bears on Jan. 23 after spending the past three seasons as offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks. He replaced Luke Getsy, who was fired after two seasons in Chicago but then became offensive coordinator of the Las Vegas Raiders, only to be fired earlier this month.

Eberflus said during the hiring process last winter that the Bears were looking for a “great teacher” for the offensive coordinator position and likely expected to select a quarterback with their first draft pick.

Despite renewing most of its offensive coaching staff and devoting significant draft capital and free agent resources to developing talent on offense, including using the No. 1 pick on Williams, Chicago has one through 10 weeks of the season demonstrated below-average performance.

The Bears rank in points scored (24th), yards per carry (28th), yards per pass (30th), total yards (30th), third downs (31st) and yards per play ( 31.) at the end of the NFL.

In Sunday's home loss to the New England Patriots, Williams completed 16 of his 30 pass attempts for 120 yards, his lowest passing performance since his NFL debut against the Tennessee Titans with 93 yards. Overall, Chicago's offense was 1 of 14 (7%) on third downs, its worst mark since 2012.

Williams has also been sacked nine times by the Patriots, bringing his total to 18 over the last three games. During Chicago's recent losing streak, Williams recorded the three highest pressure percentage games of his career.

Brown is one season removed from his stint as offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers, which coincided with the rookie season of 2023 first-rounder Bryce Young. Brown spent three seasons with the Los Angeles Rams as the running backs and tight ends coach and also served as the team's associate head coach from 2021-2022.

Brown also has playing experience at the collegiate level as offensive coordinator and running backs coach for Miami from 2016 to 2018.

“Thomas is a smart offensive mind who has experience managing plays with a cooperative mindset. I look forward to his leadership of our offensive coaching staff and his plan for our players,” Eberflus said.