The Chicago Bears fired former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and several other members of the coaching staff on January 10 after the team’s offense struggled for a second straight year.
Less than two weeks later, Getsy may have another opportunity in the wings with the Las Vegas Raiders.
“Three names I’ve heard for the Raiders OC job: Shane Waldron, Kliff Kingsbury and Luke Getsy,” NFL insider Albert Breer wrote in his January 21 column for Sports Illustrated.
Waldron has since been hired by the Bears to be Getsy’s replacement, as first reported by Tom Pelissero of The NFL Network. Getsy’s future is still up in the air, but the Raiders report is interesting, particularly considering the buzz surrounding Bears quarterback Justin Fields heading to Vegas.
Justin Fields & Bears Offense Didn’t Exactly Thrive Under Luke Getsy
Getsy served as OC for Chicago for the past two seasons. His offenses underwhelmed, averaging 307.8 total yards and 19.2 points in 2022 and 323.2 total yards and 21.2 points this past season.
Chicago had the NFL’s worst passing attack under Getsy in 2022 (130.5 yards passing per game). There was slight improvement in 2023, as the team netted 182.1 yards through the air per contest (27th in the NFL), but that wasn’t enough to keep Getsy around.
Just imagine when JF1 gets developed like LJ.
— DeMarcus Walker (@livinglegend_44) January 21, 2024
The ex-Bears OC also failed to maximize the talents of Fields, who completed 61% of his passes this season for 2,562 yards, 16 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. Multiple players had damning things to say about Getsy’s inability to tailor his offense to Fields’ strengths.
Just check the above post courtesy of Bears defensive lineman DeMarcus Walker on X. Walker wrote that in reference to Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson leading his team to a 34-10 win over the Houston Texans in the AFC divisional round. A Bears starter waxing wistful on the day Fields “gets developed like” Jackson is a pretty damning indictment.
Bears head coach Matt Eberflus explained why Chicago elected to move on from Getsy, noting he ultimately made the decision after speaking with general manager Ryan Poles, chairman George McCaskey and president Kevin Warren first.
“The growth and the development of the offense to me needed to be better than what it was,” Eberflus said after Getsy’s firing was made public. “To me, you look at the passing game, certainly that’s one aspect of it. And that’s where it is. We decided to move on from that. And again, that was my decision, obviously conferring with Ryan and George and Kevin.”
Could Justin Fields & Luke Getsy Be Reunited With Las Vegas Raiders?
There has been growing buzz surrounding a potential Raiders trade for Fields. Former GM Randy Mueller named Fields a perfect QB for Vegas to start over with in 2024, and Illinois Bet gave the Raiders the second-best odds to land the current Bears QB this offseason. There’s also another very key connection to consider.
I'm told interim general manager Champ Kelly is in a meeting with #Raiders brass as we speak, per source. pic.twitter.com/fxqMYKTgK5
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) January 19, 2024
Current Raiders interim GM Champ Kelly served as assistant director of player personnel for the Bears from 2017 to 2021, and was in that role when Fields was drafted. Kelly is widely respected both in Vegas and around league circles, and it’s likely he’ll remain with the Raiders in some capacity, likely as their next general manager.
Considering how Getsy and Fields didn’t mesh well in Chicago, a reunion elsewhere seems unlikely, but don’t rule it out. The Raiders need a QB and the Bears could very well trade Fields and start over with a new signal-caller chosen No. 1 overall. It’ll be interesting to see how it unfolds.
