What does Chicago Bears hiring Shane Waldron mean for Justin Fields?

The Chicago Bears hired Shane Waldron to be their offensive coordinator. While there will be plenty of takeaways and discussions about what this means, the most important question is what this means for Justin Fields and his future with the team.

The Chicago Bears hiring Shane Waldron is not good for Justin Fields

We knew if the team went a few different directions, it would be all-in or all-out on Fields, but this was one of the moves that did not have a clear quarterback plan. In fact, it sounds like the Bears hired Waldron so quickly because he had a great plan for a variety of quarterbacks. However, there are a few reasons to think that the Bears are moving on from Justin Fields. 

First, Waldron took the job despite plenty of openings for other coordinator spots. Did he do that with the thought that he could rebuild Fields or with the thought that he would get a rookie and the number one quarterback in this draft to build up? The latter sounds way more appealing, and that may be why Waldron took this job over others. 

More than that, when you look at the quarterbacks he has worked with, they do not play like Fields. He started his career with the New England Patriots and Tom Brady before following Charlie Weiss to coach Brady Quinn at Notre Dame. He re-entered the NFL to work with Kirk Cousins in Washington and then followed Sean McVay to coach Jared Goff.

Things did not work with him and Russell and Wilson, and now he is getting the most out of Geno Smith. If anything, he is known for working best with pocket passers who get the ball out quickly, which is not Justin Fields. We have never seen him design an offense around rushing quarterbacks, which would be an interesting fit for his first year on the new job.

The more moves the Chicago Bears make, the less likely it feels that Justin Fields will be here next year.