The Chicago Bears continue their search for their current offensive coordinator vacancy following the firing of coordinator Luke Getsy last week. General manager Ryan Poles is conducting a thorough interview process with the likes of Shane Waldron, Greg Olson, Liam Cohen, Klint Kubiak, and Greg Roman as one of the most significant aspects of the hiring will be the quarterback position, whether be a rookie or Justin Fields. Despite there being credible evidence that hiring Roman would be best for Fields, the hire would be determinantal to the quarterback's success and long-term growth.
Roman's Scheme Would Only Enable Fields' Weaknesses Instead Of Helping To Resolve Them
Through three years in the league, Fields has played 40 games and started 38 of them, providing a good sample size for his strengths and weaknesses. Chicago's third-year quarterback's strengths include being one of the league's most explosive players, arguably the best mobile passer, and having elite arm strength, which allows him to make any type of throw. Although there have been struggles, there are reasons why many fans and analysts believe Fields still has the potential to be one of the league's best quarterbacks and be a franchise-altering player.
On the other hand, there are legitimate concerns about Fields' ability to develop as a passing quarterback, as he has had several troubling trends. The Bears' quarterback, over the past two seasons, has had negative traits of taking unnecessary sacks due to holding onto the ball too long while also not trusting to throw to open targets. Additionally, Fields did not mature from 2022 to 2023 as a passer, as no substantial growth was seen, as a passer.
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With the offensive coordinator search ongoing, many believe that for Fields to play the best, it would be in the Bears' best interest to hire Roman due to his experience working with All-Pro quarterback Lamar Jackson. The former play-caller was the Ravens' offensive coordinator with Jackson from 2019 to 2022, resulting in the quarterback being named MVP in 2019. Many believe Fields, playing in the specific scheme deployed by the Raven's ex-offensive coordinator, will give him a legitimate chance to become one of the league's most dynamic players.
Although there might be short-term success for Fields in an offensive scheme deployed by Roman, there is unlikely to be long-term and sustained success due to the schematics of the design of the playbook. The offensive scheme utilizes bootlegs and moving pockets to highlight a quarterback's mobility, giving him the opportunity to scramble if there are no open targets to throw to. Additionally, Roman's strength of the passing attack is to give his quarterback half-field reads to shorten the reads one may have to go through and give the passer a faster ability to get the ball out.
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The strengths of Roman's offense would only enable Fields' weaknesses of not making full progressions and being able to read the whole field. Although getting the ball out fast to just one or two targets is a positive idea, it would also not correct the issue that Chicago's quarterback has of locking on to one or two pass-catchers over and over again. The issue of overly focusing on one target was evident in the amount of target Darnell Mooney had in 2022 and how many catches DJ Moore and Cole Kmet had this season compared to the rest of the Bears' pass-catchers.
Fields Needs A Proven Play-Caller To Help Him Overcome His Issues
If the Bears decide to keep Fields for the 2024 season, he needs to work with an offensive coordinator that will force him to be better and overcome the issues that have plagued him over the past two years. Chicago's passer needs a play-caller with proven experience of innovative play design but also a pedigree of building up quarterbacks who he has worked with. Several of the candidates the Bears have interviewed throughout the process over the past week and a half have met that criteria.
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Fields needs to be challenged, especially after what transpired in 2022, with the concerns about him being too reliant on scrambling. Chicago's quarterback, despite leading the league in rushing yards, wanted to improve as a passer and did not want to be viewed as a scrambling quarterback. At the start of 2023, Fields struggled through the Bears' first three games, as he threw four interceptions and the offense combined regressed week-by-week.
A few ideal candidates for the offensive coordinator position that would help Fields overcome his issues would be coaches like Frank Reich or Darrell Bevell, who have experience as a quarterbacks coach and play-caller. Bevell and Reich have been play-callers for multiple teams and have overseen passers who have been named to the Pro Bowl. Some of those quarterbacks the coaches have worked with include Peyton Manning, Phillip Rivers, Carson Wentz, Nick Foles, Matthew Stafford, and Russell Wilson.
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The key to a successful hire of a new offensive coordinator is to correct issues, and consistent mistakes made by a quarterback are resolved and corrected. Although Roman is a proven play-caller and would have success with Fields, he wouldn't help the embattled quarterback from a long-term standpoint as the most significant weaknesses would be avoided instead of corrected. Whether it is Chicago's current quarterback or a first-round quarterback, the Bears need to have an offensive coordinator who will make the most of their starting signal-caller and help overcome any issues or flaws.
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