Thomas Brown's misuse of resources shows exactly why he's not the long-term Bears HC

The Chicago Bears appear to be stuck in a vicious loop of dysfunction. The team has drafted three first-round quarterbacks in the past eight years, and none of them had the luxury of coaching stability. Each quarterback experienced a coaching change before their sophomore season, which stunted their development during the early stages of their careers.

When the Bears selected quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, they expected him to break that cycle. Instead, Williams has experienced significant coaching changes throughout his tumultuous rookie season.

After the team’s early struggles, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and installed passing game coordinator Thomas Brown as the interim offensive coordinator. Then, after a disastrous loss on Thanksgiving Day, Eberflus became the first head coach in franchise history to be fired midseason. In a matter of weeks, Brown was elevated from passing game coordinator to interim offensive coordinator, and then to interim head coach. 

Bears are feeding targets to a wide receiver with an expiring contract

The Bears have lost eight consecutive games, and they were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention in Week 15. With nothing left to play for this season, the team could use the final weeks of the season to help Williams develop chemistry with some of his younger teammates in preparation for the 2025 season. 

Instead, the Bears have been feeding targets to veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen. Since Brown took over play-calling duties, Allen has led the team with a 29 percent target share, per Josh Norris of Underdog Fantasy. 

The 32-year-old veteran is on the final year of the four-year, $80 million contract he signed with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020, and it’s unlikely that he will return after the season. Bears wide receiver D.J. Moore is established as the team’s top option, and Chicago invested a lot into rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze, who was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. 

Allen has notched a whopping 49 targets in the five games since Brown was given more control of the offense. Meanwhile, Odunze has only received 38 targets during that span.

Bears wide receivers coach Chris Beatty was named the interim offensive coordinator after Brown was elevated to head coach. Beatty spent the past three years as the wide receivers coach for the Los Angeles Chargers, where he developed a longstanding relationship with Allen. Like Allen, Beatty joined the Bears during the offseason.

Is Chicago making an effort to get Allen the ball to help his free agency value? Is it favoritism? Is it unintentional? Or is it simply because the savvy veteran is a more polished and reliable option than his counterparts? It’s difficult to say, but snap counts have been relatively steady for all three wideouts. Moore’s target share has also increased, as he trails only Allen with 46 targets in the past five games. 

Regardless, getting Odunze more involved could certainly help the rookie quarterback-receiver duo develop some confidence for the future. Then again, the interim coaches — much like Allen — are unlikely to stick around after the 2024 season.