The major positions on the Bears coaching staff have been set. A source confirmed to NBC Sports Chicago on Wednesday that the team hired Chad Morton to work as their new running backs coach. That was the final position coach job that needed to be backfilled after the team fired Luke Getsy and many of his position coaches earlier this month.
It’s worth noting that the Bears kept some coaches in place from last season. All the defensive position coaches remained after the unit improved drastically in 2023. Matt Eberflus also made it clear that offensive line coach Chris Morgan and tight ends coach Jim Dray would stay in 2024 after their work to help develop young players like Braxton Jones, Darnell Wright, Teven Jenkins and Cole Kmet.
Here’s a recap of all the additions to Matt Eberflus’ staff this year.
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR - SHANE WALDRON
Waldron spent the last three seasons as the Seahawks offensive coordinator. He also called plays in Seattle. Of his 19 years as a football coach, Waldron spent the most time working under Rams coach Sean McVay, and McVay’s system is an offshoot of the Kyle Shanahan tree– similar to Luke Getsy, who came from Matt LaFeur’s scheme with the Packers. Waldron has worked with a wide variety of quarterbacks, including Geno Smith, Russell Wilson and Jared Goff.
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR - ERIC WASHINGTON
This is Washington’s second stint with the Bears. He joined the team as defensive assistant in 2008 and was promoted to defensive line coach in 2010. It’s also his second stint as a DC. Washington led the Panthers defense in 2018 and 2019, and his 2019 squad finished second in the NFL with 53 sacks. He’s spent the past four seasons with the Bills working as a defensive line coach, and was promoted to assistant head coach in 2023.
Chicago Bears
QUARTERBACKS COACH - KERRY JOSEPH
Joseph followed Waldron from Seattle to Chicago. Like Waldron, he earned praise for helping to develop Geno Smith from an NFL has-been to a legit starter. Joseph has eight years of coaching experience, including four years in the NFL.
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WIDE RECEIVERS COACH - CHRIS BEATTY
Beatty already has a relationship with DJ Moore from their time together at Maryland. That’s big. He’s also coached other big names, like Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Jordan Addison, Tavon Austin and Jordan Matthews. Beatty has 26 years of coaching experience, including three in the NFL.
RUNNING BACKS COACH - CHAD MORTON
Another coach who made the trip from Seattle to Chicago with Waldron. Morton broke into coaching with the Packers in 2009, largely as a special teams assistant. He spent the last 10 years with the Seahawks, working his way up from special teams assistant to running backs coach and ultimately added run game coordinator to his responsibilities.
PASSING GAME COORDINATOR - THOMAS BROWN
Brown and Waldron crossed paths with the Rams in 2020. Brown was the team’s running backs coach and Waldron was the passing game coordinator that year. He spent 2023 as the Panthers’ offensive coordinator, and the unit struggled. They finished dead last in the NFL in both total offense and passing yards. They were second-to-last in points scored. Yet, Brown was a popular candidate over the past two hiring cycles and interviewed for some offensive coordinator and even head coach jobs.
