Insider Calls Bears Not Hiring Kliff Kingsbury a Major Judgment Error: “They Blew It”

Shane Waldron became a casualty of the Chicago Bears’ poor run of form, with the team unable to generate points or get the best out of star rookie Caleb Williams. On the other side of the country, the Commanders are thriving, and rookie Jayden Daniels is playing like an MVP candidate under offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.

Dan Quinn’s decision to hire the former Cardinals head coach is clearly paying off — something that now comes back to haunt Bears head coach Matt Eberflus and GM Ryan Poles. They had the opportunity to hire Kliff but failed to do so.

The Athletic’s NFL Insider, Kevin Fishbain, called this missed opportunity a grave error. Appearing on The Rich Eisen Show, Fishbain acknowledged that many factors go into the hiring process, and there could be several reasons why they chose to hire Shane Waldron. But the decision was simply wrong, the insider argued.

“It’s a good question, and the list doesn’t even start with Kingsbury. They talked to Zack Robinson. I mean, there are so many things everybody can relitigate about the search process. They blew it. Simple as that, they blew it.”

Fishbain also highlighted that by hiring Waldron, the Bears sucked into the trend of hiring coaches who have previously worked with the likes of Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan. That’s the kind of offense Eberflus was aiming to build with Waldron.

The Bears’ loss, however, turned into Washington’s gain, as they’ve worked wonders with Daniels and that offense.

Kliff Kingsbury is working his magic with the Commander’s offense

Kingsbury could have been on the sidelines of Soldier Field, but he is now calling plays for the Commanders, and perfectly. The team is 7-3 and currently boasts the 4th best offense in the league. They average 377 yards and 30 points per game.

While he doesn’t have the best record as a head coach, in college or the NFL, he has run a highly efficient unit as an offensive mind. He was also Patrick Mahomes’ head coach at Texas Tech.

Kingsbury has created a QB-friendly offense for Jayden Daniels. He hasn’t overloaded the rookie with information, unlike offenses run by Shanahan or McVay. He’s using many run-pass options to generate favorable looks for the offense rather than focusing on defense.

By using RPOs, though, he is achieving the same results as McVay’s or Shanahan’s offense. The OC is executing it in a way that makes it easy for a rookie like Daniels to process the information quickly. Without being overloaded with excess information, the LSU alum can simply count defenders and distinguish between good and bad reads.

Daniels’s running ability has allowed Kingsbury to call more run plays and more read-run options, especially in short-yardage situations. He hasn’t been tasked to overthrow the ball down the field like Caleb. The Commanders are fourth in the NFL in run game, averaging 153 yards. A great ground game opens up space down the field for big explosive plays, which the rookie makes when he needs to.

Dan Quinn believes there is more to come from Kliff and that offense. It’s exciting times in Washington, the team that has struggled for nearly three decades.