Bears News: OC Mark Helfrich Fired Amid Offensive Assistant Shakeup

The Chicago Bears fired offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich and three other coaches on Tuesday, per the team.

Adam Jahns of The Athletic reported the news before the Bears' official release.

Offensive line coach Harry Hiestand, special-teams assistant Brock Olivo and tight ends coach Kevin Gilbride were also relieved of their duties.

Chicago finished 29th in points per game this season, one year after owning the No. 9 scoring offense en route to an 11-5 campaign and an NFC North title.

The Bears' 8-8 mark culminated in Chicago's seventh season out of the playoffs over the last eight years.

Helfrich, who was Oregon's head coach from 2013-2016, joined Chicago under Matt Nagy in 2018.

The Bears offense broke out in his first year, scoring 26.3 points per game after posting 16.5 points on average the year before. Quarterback Mitch Trubisky completed 66.6 percent of his passes for 24 touchdowns and rushed for 421 yards and another three scores. He also threw for 7.4 yards per attempt.

However, Trubisky regressed in 2019, with his completion rate, touchdowns and yards per attempt all falling. Chicago also rushed for just 3.7 yards per carry as rookie David Montgomery and Tarik Cohen struggled to get going on the ground.

Jahns provided more clarity on the run game:

Chicago finished 29th in adjusted line yards, per Football Outsiders, and 20th in adjusted sack rate allowed.

Chicago's offense did have to adjust after numerous injuries, with offensive lineman Kyle Long and tight end Trey Burton finishing on injured reserve. The Bears also showed some signs of life late in the year, with the team beating the Dallas Cowboys 31-24 in Week 14 behind a four-touchdown performance from Trubisky.

But the Bears stumbled to a .500 mark after entering the season with high hopes, and team brass felt changes were needed.