Shane Waldron enters his first season as offensive coordinator after joining the Bears staff on January 22, 2024. He spent the previous three seasons with the Seattle Seahawks in the same role. Waldron helped guide the Seahawks to two winning seasons in his three years in Seattle and brings 19 years of coaching experience to the Bears, including 10 in the NFL.
In three seasons in Seattle, Waldron's offense ranked third in yards per touch (7.8), third in big plays passing (110), fourth in big plays rushing percentage (13.0%), fifth in completion percentage (66.6%), eighth in yards per reception (11.2) and tied for tenth in passing touchdowns (83). The Seahawks' offense also ranked tied for first in turnovers (53), second in interceptions (31) and fifth in interception percentage (1.9%). The Seahawks finished the 2023 season with a 9-8 record.
In 2022, Waldron was instrumental in the success of QB Geno Smith, who became the first QB since Rich Gannon (1999) to earn his first Pro Bowl selection in Year 10 or later. Smith finished the season leading the NFL in completion percentage (69.8), finished in the top five in touchdown passes (30), and passer rating (100.9), while setting franchise records for completion percentage, passing yards (4,282), completions (399), and pass attempts (572). He was named the 2022 AP Comeback Player of the Year.
Smith was able to establish strong chemistry with Seattle's wide receivers as Waldron's offense helped yield a pair of 1,000-yard receivers. Tyler Lockett finish with 84 catches for 1,033 yards and nine touchdowns, becoming the only player in the NFL with at least eight TD receptions in each of the past five seasons. DK Metcalf led the team with a career high 90 catches for 1,048 yards. The 90 receptions are the fourth-most in a single-season in Seattle history.
Seattle's offense ranked in the top-10 in at least eight major categories, which was helped by the quick development of the 2022 Rookie Class, including Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas, who became the first rookie duo to start a team's first 15 games at tackle since the 1970 merger. Fellow rookie RB Kenneth Walker III, finished second in AP Offensive Rookie of the Year voting while leading all rookie runners in attempts (228), yards (1,050) and rushing touchdowns (9).
In 2021, Waldron's inaugural season in Seattle, the Seahawks' saw the emergence of Rashaad Penny, who led the NFL in rushing over the final five games with 671 yards to go along with six touchdowns. Overall, the Seahawks' rushing attack finished third in the NFL with an average of 5.02 rushing yards per attempt. Additionally, Seattle's passing game set several records, including Russell Wilson joining Peyton Manning as the only players in NFL history to post at least 3,000 passing yards and 20 TDs in each of their first 10 seasons. Wilson and Duane Brown were both named to the NFC Pro Bowl roster. Tyler Lockett became the seventh player in franchise history to record 1,100 receiving yards in a single-season with a career-high 1,175, and DK Metcalf set a career-high with 12 touchdown receptions, tied for third-most in franchise history.
Waldron's emphasis on ball security produced the fewest giveaways in the NFL with 13 and second fewest in franchise history. Taking care of the football, along with Seattle's ability to marry the run with the pass, helped the Seahawks rank fifth in the NFL in scoring since Week 13, averaging 31.0 points per game, while winning four of those six games.
The 2020 season saw QB Jared Goff pass for a career-high 67.03 completion percentage (370 for 552) and over 3,900 yards for the third-consecutive season, missing his third-straight 4,000-yard season by 48 yards.
Waldron was influential in the continued growth of Goff during the 2019 campaign. Goff became the first quarterback in franchise history to post consecutive seasons with over 4,000 passing yards. Goff finished the season third in the NFL in passing with 4,638 yards and threw for 20-plus touchdowns for the third-consecutive season. WRs Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods finished with 1,161 and 1,134 receiving yards, respectively. It marked the first time the Rams had consecutive seasons with multiple receivers totaling over 1,000 receiving yards since a run of four-straight seasons from 1999-2002.
In 2018, Waldon helped lead a Rams passing attack that finished among the top-10 in passing yards per attempt (4th), passing yards per game (5th) and touchdowns (T8th) and saw Goff set career-bests across the stat sheet.
Under Waldron's guidance in 2017, the tight end duo of Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett combined for 539 yards, three touchdowns and averaged 13.1 yards per reception. Everett recorded a 69-yard reception in his second game as a professional which tied for the second-longest reception by a tight end during the 2017 season.
Previously, Waldron served as the Washington Commanders offensive quality control coach for the 2016 season. That season, Washington's offense broke the franchise record for total net yards in a single season (6,454), surpassing the previous team record set in 1989. That same team averaged 403.4 yards per game, becoming the first team in franchise history to average 400 yards per game. In the NFL rankings, Washington ranked third in total offense.
Prior to joining the Washington Commanders, Waldron spent four seasons at UMass, serving as the Minutemen's Recruiting Coordinator/Tight Ends coach from 2012-13 and offensive line coach from 2014-15. Waldron helped guide tight end Rob Blanchflower to a seventh-round selection by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2014 NFL Draft after Blanchflower set the school record for most career receiving yards by a tight end.
In 2011, Waldron served as the offensive coordinator at Buckingham Browne & Nichols High School (Mass.) and also as a Northeast Sports Consultant. A year earlier, he served as wide receivers coach for the Hartford Colonials of the United Football League.
Before his stint in the UFL, Waldron worked with the New England Patriots in various capacities across five seasons with the franchise. Beginning in 2002, Waldron served as an operations intern for two seasons before being promoted to the title of an operations assistant in 2004, when he handled special teams quality control duties in addition to overseeing the completion of weekly game plans. After three years coaching at Notre Dame, Waldron returned to New England in 2008 to serve as an offensive quality control coach and later served as the tight ends coach in 2009. That year the tight end duo of Benjamin Watson and Chris Baker combined for 546 yards, seven touchdowns and averaged 12.7 yards per reception.
Waldron spent the 2005-07 seasons as an offensive graduate assistant at Notre Dame. With the Irish, he helped guide two of the most explosive offenses in school history, as both the 2005 and 2006 units averaged at least 31 points per game.
A native of Portland, Ore., Waldron is a 2002 graduate of Tufts University, where he was a three-year letterman at tight end and long snapper playing for Bill Samko. He is married to Meghan with two daughters, Lainey and Rylee.
