New Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron is ready to work with quarterback Caleb Williams, bolstered offense

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) — When the Bears approached Shane Waldron in January to become their new offensive coordinator, their path forward wasn’t quite clear.

The Bears hadn’t yet selected quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick, signed running back D’Andre Swift on a three-year deal or dealt a fourth-round pick to acquire six-time Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen.

Waldron agreed to take the job off his belief in the Bears’ direction. Nearly four months later, those hopes have been affirmed.

“I thought the clear connection and the clear vision of where they wanted to keep going with this program, it felt comfortable,” Waldron said Saturday at Bears rookie minicamp. “It felt really clear.

“Excited to move forward with it.”

Waldron became the Bears’ top target as offensive coordinator in part because his scheme could offer continuity for the personnel on offense, and the additions made this offseason then bolstered the unit.

There was no more important decision for the Bears than at quarterback, where they formed a plan early on this offseason to move on from three-year starter Justin Fields and select Williams with the No. 1 overall pick.

Once he was hired, Waldron was part of the Bears’ pre-draft process to confirm their choice for Williams.

"He's an unbelievable human being,” Waldron said. “Football is part of what makes him special, but there's a lot more outside of that that makes him special as well."

The Bears believe Waldron, quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph, passing game coordinator Thomas Brown and offensive assistant Ryan Griffin can be key influences in the growth of Williams as a rookie.

As part of their plan for Williams’ development, the Bears have named him their starting quarterback from the start. There will be no veteran stopgap for Williams to beat out or awkward succession plan.

“Obviously, you have goals that you set for yourself right in the moment,” Williams said. “Also, you have goals for the future. So, that’s important. But understanding the moment that we’re in and being in that moment is really important. Taking it one step at a time, handling it the way that it needs to be handled and being a professional is really important. All of those go in one.

“To be a great leader, you got to learn how to follow first. Right now, I'm following all the vets, following all the coaches. I'm listening, having both ears open and my mouth shut. Just kind of sitting back listening. And then when I get to the point of when I learn everything, when I learn the ways we do it, the culture the playbook and the offensive line, wide receivers, running backs, tight ends and all of that, then you can start taking the lead, then you can start taking the helm of all it and taking the next steps.

“For right now, though, I'm listening more than I’m speaking and talking and I’m taking it one step at a time, being in the moment.”

Williams will have a dynamic trio of wide receivers in Allen, DJ Moore and Rome Odunze, a reliable rusher in Swift, a versatile tight end in Cole Kmet and an offensive line that should be stout.

While much of the focus this season will be centered on Williams – whom the Bears hope can become a franchise quarterback – the offense is still based on the running game.

Waldon has the opportunity to lead a balanced, productive offense with plenty of talent at his disposal. The group came together as he believed it would when he accepted the job.

Now, it’s time for Waldron to get to work.

“We want to be able to be multiple on offense,” Waldron said. “And so, with the addition of the wide receivers, having three receivers, two great established vets, we've got other young guys that are up and coming on the roster as well. It just allows us to continue to be multiple, allows us to on a week-by-week basis see what might be a matchup advantage or something that we can look to lean heavier towards. And with Cole (Kmet) and Gerald (Everett) and the other tight ends and (Khari Blasingame) at fullback, we got a lot of different pieces that we can utilize.

“This is the time of year where we're trying to figure out how is everyone going to carve out their individual role for this 2024 offense. And the more good players you can surround yourself with, the better you're going to be as a coach, obviously, so it's been a tremendous offseason of being able to do that and add different pieces and then the guys that are returning, they're continuing to learn and grow and become better players as well. So, it will be fun to have all these different players and figuring out what their roles will be for the season.”

 Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670 .