Matt Eberflus knew he had to shake things up once the off-season began. By far, the biggest decision was overhauling the offensive coaching staff. It didn’t take long for him to zero in on Shane Waldron as the new offensive coordinator. That deal came together quickly. However, the Chicago Bears soon ran into a snag. Waldron’s preferred choice for wide receivers coach, Sanjay Lal, opted to join the Los Angeles Chargers instead. That forced Eberflus to search for other options. After some research and phone calls, he liked what he heard about Chris Beatty, the Chargers’ former receivers coach. However, it wasn’t until he got a resounding nod of approval from DJ Moore that things came together.
The star Bears receiver worked with Beatty for two years at Maryland in college. Moore told Eberflus that he was unquestionably the best receivers coach he had ever worked with. That sealed it for the Bears head coach, who documented the process on 1920 Football Drive.
For Moore to say something like that is worth noting. Keep in mind he’s worked with Jim Hostler and Tyke Tolbert. Both of those men have Super Bowl rings. That should give you an idea of how highly the receiver thinks of Beatty. His reputation goes beyond his stint at Maryland, too.
DJ Moore wasn’t the only NFL stud he helped develop.
Beatty had a direct hand in Jordan Matthews’ rise at Vanderbilt and played a pivotal role in recruiting Jordan Addison to Pitt. If that wasn’t enough, he got a career year out of Mike Williams in 2021 and helped mold Josh Palmer into a capable third receiver for the Chargers. Keenan Allen also had the second-best season of his career in 2023 under his watch. If anybody is qualified to oversee the development of Rome Odunze and the other young receivers on the roster, it is Beatty.
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One must give credit to Eberflus. Some head coaches wouldn’t bother getting the opinions of players on whichever assistant coaches they plan to hire. However, he understood DJ Moore had a unique perspective on Beatty that could prove valuable. Once the receiver gave the thumbs up, the rest was a formality. It sounds like Beatty has a keen understanding of how to get his players’ attention. If veterans like Moore and Allen will listen to him, the young guys should fall in line quickly.
Well gena how was Scott supposed to show what he can do with the worst QB in the league throwing very rarely his way. Wow if you dont make the pro bowl your rookie season then Poles made a mistake. At least Poles didn’t make the mistake of drafting Bryce Young like you wanted. Or CJ Stroud and still having a sucky roster. Gena will be calling Odunze a wasted pick if he doesn’t get 100 yards his first game.
@Dr. Melhus — Maybe you’d like Chris Beatty to chew their food for Velus and Tyler, too. To what end? Merely to save face for the inept GM, who selected these overdrafted players? Velus Jones Jr., and Tyler Scott are gifted athletes. Jones’ 10-yard split was reported by RAS as being: 1.46 seconds; Tyler Scott’s 10-yard split was 1.5 (for reference Tyreek Hill’s 10-yard split was recorded as: 1.5 seconds; Xavier Worthy’s 10-yard split was: 1.44 when he set an NFL Combine record in the 40-yard dash: at 4.21 seconds). But elite straight line speed is merely one trait, and… Read more »
Good. We need help developing our young WRs. Look at our track record, better coaching could be a real key to getting guys with talent like Darnell Mooney had take the next step instead of just sort of stalling out at a certain point.
So, there’s another point for discussion – can Beatty get Velus and Tyler Scott to up their games enough to keep them on the roster (Velus) or get them more playing time (Scott)?
We’ll see.
@Hehateme30 Completely agree with you about “boots on the ground” perspective. It’s why I’m so harsh when I see bad management and coaching, and more nuanced on my criticism of players. I’ve been around construction too, so knowing the huge difference that can happen between “things done right” and “things done wrong” has impact on the final project. But in owning companies, working in management and starting on the ground, I think everyone should get full perspectives – even to the board rooms. I wasn’t sure about Beatty, but work with Moore and Addison is more important than his work… Read more »