The Chicago Bears parted ways with offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on Tuesday – a decision that has been met with criticism from New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers has voiced his concern that NFL teams are too quick to sack staff following the Chicago Bears’ decision to let go of Shane Waldron.
The move comes after the Bears suffered a 19-3 defeat at the hands of the New England Patriots, with Waldron struggling to harness the potential of quarterback Caleb Williams, the first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. With the Bears currently standing at 4-5 for the season and on a three-game losing streak, not to mention failing to score a touchdown in their last two games, the pressure was mounting.
New York Jets quarterback Rodgers shared his perspective on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’. He said: “Unfortunately that’s the nature of our league right now. It’s coaches and play-callers on both sides of the ball aren’t making it through a season. There’s been a lot of quarterbacks who have made rough starts to their career with multiple play-callers.
“I feel like at one point, Alex Smith had like four different play-callers in his first four years, or something, I believe in San Fran. You can fact check me on that! But I know there was a number play-callers. There’s a lot of guys who figure it out over the years.”
Rodgers, with a Super Bowl victory and four MVP titles under his belt, is no stranger to the pressures of the NFL. He empathises with Williams and the Bears as they navigate a challenging season, mirroring the struggles faced by his own team, the Jets, who despite preseason optimism are now sitting at a disappointing 3-7 record following another loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
Fans are growing restless with Rodgers, but he’s calling for patience from organisations, insisting that time is needed for players and coaches to truly shine. Rodgers stressed: “It (firing the OC) doesn’t make it easy on the quarterback, for sure. There’s just not a lot of patience anymore in the league. It’s (like), ‘Get this guy out of here!’ Unfortunately what happens, and I really mean this, is a lot of it is rinse and repeat.”
He continued: “There’s not the patience to go, ‘Listen, I believe in X – this person, this game, this coordinator, this player – and we’re going to weather these storms because it’s going to make us a mentally tough group or a mentally tough person. We’re going to get behind these people, and I don’t care what you have to say outside the building. This is what we’re going to do.’
“And for a young player to come in like that and be drafted first overall – with all the pressure, scrutiny, expectations, and obviously with the roster moves they made – and then you get rid of the guy calling the plays after a nine games? 10 games? Something like that. That’s a tough deal for him.
“But I don’t know him. I know a little bit about him… He’s strong enough mentally to get through this, he is. Chicago is a great sports town, they got great sports fans. But the consensus for all fans is, ‘We’re not winning now and everyone needs to get the hell out.’
“Listen, there are places that are broken – locker rooms that may not be sticking together or staffs that need a shake up from time to time. But I would continue to preach patience, for players and for coaches.
“But you know what it starts with? Ownership. Ownership has to come out and make strong statements, ‘This is the plan, this is what we’re doing. We’re going to trust the process or trust the guys that are in place unless there’s a major (unforeseen) problem… something that throws a wrench in the plans.’ I don’t know, I’m just thinking what could derail (a team).
“(Ownership need to say), ‘Hey, listen, we’re giving this thing three years, this is what we’re doing. And I don’t care what the outside opinions are.’ But unfortunately, there’s too often the opinions of – whether it’s the social media world or the incredible experts out there talking about football – that impacts a billion dollar organisation.”
