BREAKING: Chicago Bears fire Mark Helfrich, three others
December 31, 2019
The Chicago Bears fired offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich and three others Tuesday, according to Adam Jahns of The Athletic. The Bears organization later confirmed the report.
Alongside Helfrich, the Bears also moved on from offensive line coach Harry Hiestand, tight ends coach Kevin Gilbride and special teams assistant Brock Olivo.
Helfrich, who coached the Oregon Ducks between 2013-2016, was hired as the Bears’ offensive coordinator before the 2018 season. However, his lack of play-calling experience came under increased scrutiny once calls surfaced for head coach Matt Nagy to relinquish play-calling duties.
Last season, the Bears finished ninth in the NFL at 26.3 points per game (ppg), earning Chicago their first playoff appearance since the 2010 NFL season. This season, the offensive regression served as the Bears’ primary storyline, as the team labored to a 8-8 record while scoring only 17.5 ppg, good for 29th in the NFL.
The Bears also received substandard production from both the offensive line and tight end position. Despite playing in only eight games, tight end Trey Burton led all Bears tight ends with 14 receptions, good for 59th among all NFL tight ends.
The Bears ranked 27th with 1,458 total rushing yards, though some of the blame may be attributed to Nagy for his disproportional run-pass scheme. Mitchell Trubisky, who dropped back to throw a career-high 516 times despite coming off a litany of injuries, was sacked 38 times in 2019, 14 more than his 2018 total.