Bears: Chargers blocked Kellen Moore OC interview request before Shane Waldron hire

There are reports Monday morning that the Chicago Bears are hiring Shane Waldron as their new offensive coordinator. The Bears requested to interview at least nine coaches before ultimately landing on Waldron, but there was one intriguing candidate they never got to talk with.

Chicago wanted to interview Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator Kellen Moore but LA denied the request, per Jeremy Fowler. Moore is a candidate for the Chargers head coaching opening and blocking him from other teams is an indication that LA at the very least wants to keep Moore around in some capacity in 2024.

This led a lot of people to believe Moore is in line to become LA’s next head coach, but the Chargers are still in the mix for Jim Harbaugh and several other highly-touted coaches. If Moore isn’t the selection, it’s not a foregone conclusion that the Chargers’ new coach retains Moore on his staff.

If it’s the latter, the Chargers will be in a load of heat for not allowing Moore to speak with other teams. We don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes, but it would be pretty egregious from the Chargers to block interviews for Moore without guarantying him a job next season.

Whether the Bears would have hired Moore or not remains to be seen, but they took their time deciding who was going to run their offense. Waldron spent the last three seasons calling plays for the Seattle Seahawks and helped quarterback Geno Smith earn Comeback Player of the Year honors in 2022.

Waldron is a disciple of Sean McVay whom which he coached under for four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. The Bears interviewed four different coaches from McVay’s tenure with the Rams.

It will be interesting to see where Kellen Moore and the Chargers go from here. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise for the Bears and Shane Waldron will turn Chicago’s offense around.