New Bears OC discusses working with Justin Fields or rookie QB

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said in January that the decision to move on from offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and other assistant coaches following this past season was related to the fact that "the growth and the development of the offense...needed to be better than where it was." 

Per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk and Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times, new Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron insisted during his introductory news conference on Thursday his offense would work with either current Chicago starting quarterback Justin Fields or a rookie signal-caller in the lineup. 

"In my past experiences with different quarterbacks, different experience levels, whether I was in the coordinator role or in a role as a position coach, I’ve felt that way," Waldron said. "I’ve felt different quarterbacks have been able to set foot into the system, be able to learn it quickly — that starts with us being able to teach it in a good and efficient manner where they understand it — and then being able to go and adjust because each guy’s gonna have a different skillset." 

Waldron most recently spent the last three seasons as offensive coordinator with the Seattle Seahawks, where he helped quarterback Geno Smith earn Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year honors for 2022. Such a history suggests Waldron may be able to get the best out of Fields, but it's widely believed the Bears will use the No. 1 overall pick of this year's draft to acquire USC Trojans signal-caller Caleb Williams.

Waldron revealed he's already exchanged messages with Fields, but the coordinator was sure to add Thursday his offense will "adjust the scheme to the (quarterback's) skillset." As for Fields, stories have linked him with potential moves to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Las Vegas Raiders and Atlanta Falcons. Interestingly, the Raiders hired Getsy as their new OC earlier this month. 

Fields' current or future employer will have to either exercise or decline the fifth-year option for 2025 worth roughly $23.3M attached to his rookie contract by the May 2 deadline. It's thought Chicago could make a final decision about Fields' future before the NFL combine gets underway next week.