The Bears’ search for an offensive coordinator has led to another interview. Chicago spoke with Greg Roman about the position on Monday, per Peter Schrager of NFL Network. 
The Bears elected to retain head coach Matt Eberflus, but to little surprise OC Luke Getsy was dismissed at the end of the season. Improvement on the offensive side of the ball will be a clear priority for the team after it showed a significant defensive turnaround in the second half of the campaign. Chicago’s next offensive coordinator – the third in the past four seasons – will be tasked with either developing Justin Fields further or starting fresh with a new quarterback brought in to replace him. The latter route could very well include selecting Caleb Williams first overall after he declared for the draft yesterday.
Roman has experience as a play-caller at the NFL level, and in particular working with mobile quarterbacks. He has held OC positions with the 49ers, Bills and, most recently, Ravens. His Baltimore tenure included back-to-back seasons in 2019 and ’20 in which the team led the league in scoring. The Ravens’ Lamar Jackson-led attack developed a strong reputation for its success on the ground, which falls in line with Roman’s track record. Offenses he has guided have never ranked worse than eighth in the NFL in yardage on the ground.
However, Roman-led units have not matched that success through the air. The Ravens’ 13th-place finish in passing yards in 2021 represents the most productive campaign in terms of passing yards he has overseen in his career. Much of Fields’ success to date has come on the ground, although he did see an uptick in many passing categories in 2023. If the Bears decide to keep the 2021 first-rounder in the fold, an OC with a stronger track record in the passing game would likely represent a more suitable choice. Chicago has yet to make a determination with respect to moving on from Fields (clearing the way for Williams to be drafted) or giving him at least one more season to establish himself as a franchise passer.
Roman, 51, joins Seahawks OC Shane Waldron, 49ers passing game coordinator Klint Kubiak, as well as Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen and Seahawks QBs coach Greg Olson in receiving interest for the Bears’ OC gig. After Roman’s four-year Ravens tenure ended last offseason, he took this past year off from coaching.
Hiring Roman would be like hiring a plumber to fix the electrical work. They have the running game- They need a passing game!
Rondon- They think just because he coached Lamar Jackson he can coach Fields. They would be wrong.
Agree, Josh Allen flourished after he was canned.
He never coached Allen. Daboll was his original OC.
Biggest indication yet that Fields is coming back. Should have made this switch a year ago after he left the Ravens.
Check out his quote from Dez Bryant on Roman!
‘Every WR on the offense better ask for a trade’
Dez had 6 catches in 6 games, maybe he just couldn’t get open? lol
I don’t know, but thought it was a funny tweet. Roman did get run out of Baltimore and NY. But I think realfootballfan is right, a OC that has worked with running QB’s probably means Fields stays.
Roman’s been good at that one thing-maximizing running quarterbacks’ potential to be weapons in that capacity. The passing offense has, of course, suffered as a result. The question there is, though, whether or not the passing offense was limited purely by the scheme or also by the abilities of the respective quarterbacks. Jackson, for his part, has developed into a much better passer now than he was originally, even though he has a few noticeable deficiencies. Kaepernick, on the other hand, never developed as a passer, either before or after Roman.
Fields is also a couple of years ahead of where Jackson and Kaepernick were, and is leading a less loaded offense than either of the other two did. It may be more of a challenge, or take more time, to build a scheme in Chicago right now. However, Roman’s past success in doing so does indicate that, if he can’t build the best running system for a running quarterback, it may be a taller task than we thought.
Well, if you’re keeping Fields, this is definitely the home run hire in terms of having an O.C., purely in that one singular aspect of this process for Chicago. How Roman can build a scheme for a more passing oriented quarterback would be the concern to be determined.
♫ Lost in a Roman wilderness of pain
And all the children are insane
All the children are insane
Waiting for the summer rain, yeah ♫
Doors / The End