Senior Bowl can make or break the Chicago Bears OC Luke Getsy’s career

The 2022 NFL regular season officially ended less than two weeks ago, and the number of well-known offensive coordinators being fired this week has not gone unnoticed. The Chicago Bears are not projected to be one of those teams seeing their offensive coordinator, Luke Getsy, was nominated internally to coach at the Senior Bowl

On Tuesday, Los Angeles Chargers fired Joe Lombardi, three days after the Chargers blew a 27-0 lead against the Jacksonville Jaguars last Saturday night during Super Wildcard Weekend. He had been criticized heavily for not getting the most out of QB Justin Herbert.

On Thursday, Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced they have fired Byron Leftwich, while Baltimore Ravens announced Greg Roman has stepped down as their OC to pursue other opportunities.

Just about a year ago, Leftwich and Roman were hot coaching candidates for teams with head coaching vacancies, including the Chicago Bears, who had fired Matt Nagy.

It’s a sobering reminder of how much things can change within a year for many coaches.

Roman had success in his previous stint in San Francisco, where he coached Colin Kaepernick, and his recent stint in Baltimore, where he helped QB Lamar Jackson win a league MVP in 2019. His experience working with dual-threat quarterbacks would have been very enticing to see what he could have done with Justin Fields.

Despite having strong support from head coach John Harbaugh, it seems the fans have turned on him in recent years. And after another early playoff exit last Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, with Lamar Jackson sidelined with an injury and the offense struggling with backup Tyler Hundley, it looks like Roman’s tenure has run its course.

Leftwich was hired as an offensive coordinator when the Buccaneers hired Bruce Arians as their head coach back in 2019. During his tenure, they won Super Bowl 55 in 2020 and won the NFC South the following season.

But this past season, despite winning the division again, the team stumbled to an 8-9 finish, and offensive production dropped significantly as Brady looked old and frustrated on the sidelines. Their season ended with a lackluster loss against the Dallas Cowboys in the opening round of the playoffs on Monday.

Counting teams that are looking for new head coaches, there are 13 offensive coordinator openings as of right now. And that number could increase once other teams remaining in the playoffs get knocked out, and decides to make a change.

This brings our attention to Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy

He deserves credit for adjusting the offense after the disastrous Washington game by unleashing Justin Fields’ running ability. But eventually, injuries and a subpar roster caught up, and his offense stumbled badly to the finish of the season.

While being named one of the top young head coaching prospects to watch by NFL.com this season, he has not gotten a single interview with any head coaching vacancy yet. He needs more time to prove himself with a better talent before we can make a fair judgment. That seems like a consensus around the league as well. For Getsy, there is no need to rush.

Besides, he should look no further to his former colleague in Green Bay, Nathaniel Hackett, who did not even last a season as the head coach of the Denver Broncos after new ownership took over. His firing should serve as a cautionary tale for Getsy.

Fortunately, the news came down this week that he will be the head coach of the American Team in the upcoming Senior Bowl next month.

Senior Bowl has long been a premier college football all-star game for college prospects. He will get his first taste of being a head coach by coaching future NFL stars while working as a scout for Ryan Poles gathering intel on several prospects on his team as well as the opposing National Team. He will also have a chance to make a strong impression in front of local and national media as well.

If the Chicago Bears draft any players from this year’s Senior Bowl based on Getsy’s observations, and they make significant contributions in 2023, his stock will rise. And if it helps Justin Fields take another step as a passer-by throwing over 4,000 yards, then his stock will go even higher.

History shows what Chicago Bears could get for No. 1 pick

With the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears may look to trade back. What could they get in return based on historical precedent?

With the Chicago Bears facing the most important offseason in franchise history, this Senior Bowl experience could also make or break Getsy’s aspiration of becoming a head coach.