The most athletic quarterback the Bears have ever had, Justin Fields, is behind door number one. However, as he enters his fourth season in the NFL, it’s unclear if he has achieved his peak.
Door two has, well, someone behind it. It needs to be ascertained. Whichever of those three players—Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, or Jayden Daniels—the Bears choose to enter through that door.
Regarding Waldron and Joseph, it’s difficult to predict how their hiring will affect the decision. However, one key lesson stands out.
Joseph and Waldron will receive the keys from the Bears, regardless of what they decide to do.
Waldron made playoff quarterback out of Geno Smith, a journeyman who never quite lived up to his second-round hype in New York as a Jet. Furthermore, a quarterback who completed passes for 4,200 yards and 30 touchdowns.
That would, statistically speaking, be the best season a Bears quarterback has ever had, not to belabour the issue.
The fact that Waldron has experience working with quarterbacks is still relevant, particularly in light of their collaboration with Drew Lock when Lock relieved an ailing Smith. Joseph was working with him in Seattle with Smith. Both of them have produced good quarterbacks in the NFL in the past.
That was an entirely different experience from Eberflus’s first hire. After two seasons, former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy’s experiment came to an end. Getsy had never served as an offensive coordinator in the NFL.
Naturally, this is a crucial time of year for Eberflus. While it’s encouraging that he went from 3-14 in his rookie season to 7-10 in his second, the Bears decided to stick with Eberflus rather than pursue Jim Harbaugh, Ben Johnson, or Bill Belichick. Expectations follow that choice.
Bears CEO Kevin Warren stated on January 10 that “we’re impatiently patient but we also understand the importance to build a champion, it does take some time.” “I’m not saying a lot of time, but I strongly believe that going into this third year is going to be a critical time for us to take a major jump.”
In Year 3, Eberflus will need to demonstrate more development. The winning record is the natural sequence of advancement.
If the Bears had defeated Detroit, Denver, and Cleveland in their final games, they may have concluded 2023 with a winning record. The Bears led in the fourth quarter of each of these games. With a 10-7 record, the Bears would have been in the running for an NFC Wild Card berth.
There could be a line drawn in the sand: qualify for the playoffs. It makes sense that Waldron and Joseph are present because of this.
In his sophomore year, Waldron adapted from Russell Wilson to Smith. Joseph also helped bring Smith up to date. They’ve demonstrated their ability in one offseason.
It would be reasonable to expect them to have the flexibility to use Fields or a rookie quarterback if they can accomplish it in a single summer.
Eberflus was searching for just that flexibility in his OC from the beginning.
