On January 30, 2023, the Chicago Bears hired Luke Getsy to be their next Offensive Coordinator. The 2022 season featured a new coaching regime, transitioning from former head coach Matt Nagy and OC Bill Lazor to the controversial hirings of Matt Eberflus and Getsy. Fans were once again skeptical about Getsy, and they expected immediate results. With the last offensive coordinator surviving more then two years in Chicago being over a decade ago, Getsy needs to deliver fast to keep the fan base happy. So, with Getsy’s first season as offensive coordinator under his belt and an offseason filled with big moves by general manager Ryan Poles, how does he look ahead of the 2023 season?
Coaching History:
Getsy came to the Bears with 15 years of coaching experience, 8 in the NCAA and 7 in the NFL. He began his career at his alma mater, Akron University. In the NCAA, he bounced around various schools as a graduate assistant, OC, and various position coaches. Getsy spent each of his pro years with the Green Bay Packers. From 2014-2015, he worked as an offensive quality control coach before being promoted to receivers coach in 2016. In 2018, Getsy returned to the NCAA for a year before coming back to the Packers in 2019. From 2019-2021, Getsy served as the Packers’ quarterbacks coach. During his tenure, the Packers made six playoff appearances, and won the NFC North five times. As quarterback coach, Getsy assisted Aaron Rodgers in winning back-to-back NFL MVPs for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
Chicago Bears:
Luke Getsy’s first season in Chicago was inconsistent and disappointing as a whole, but it showed glimpses of quarterback Justin Fields’ development and hope for the future. The first half of the season was an offensive disaster for the Bears – they just couldn’t get it together. This is Getsy’s first time play calling, and his inexperience showed. He struggled to find an offensive scheme right for Fields, and was almost forcing players into his plan instead of building around the talent he had. Halfway through the season, something clicked, and the offensive was able to create consistent plays and showed potential to be an elite team. Unfortunately, this didn’t last long as the playbook was extremely limited. Soon, the Bears offensive once again became predictable and basic.
The offensive had countless ups and downs, and is still miles away from the unit fans have dreamed of for decades. But the sparks shown throughout the season by Getsy are something to be excited about. Getsy came to the Bears under a new head coach and no play calling experience, not to mention he had very little to work with. While that is not an excuse for failure, by the end of the season the offense was certainly less disappointing then Bill Lazor’s rag-tag group of guys just a year ago. Although another low bar, it is still an improvement, and as faith in the new coaching staff grows and Fields continues to develop, Getsy has the potential to change the Bears offensive culture for the better.
The Future:
So far this offseason, the Bears have made a splash by getting Fields a number one wide receiver in DJ Moore, formerly on the Carolina Panthers. With the draft taking place in less than two weeks, Chicago will hopefully use their picks to strengthen their offensive line and pick up some more position players in the later rounds. The Bears offense has a lot to prove this upcoming season, but the future looks brighter than it has in a long time.
