Westhoff is a cancer survivor, having been treated, including multiple surgeries, for cancer in his femur.

A longtime special teams coach, he had been on Payton’s New Orleans Saints staff in 2017 and 2018. He had not coached after the 2018 season until he was hired by Payton last year, shortly after the Broncos had hired Payton.

Westhoff worked daily with Broncos special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica and assistant special teams coach Chris Banjo, who was a Saints special teams standout when Westhoff was on the New Orleans staff. Westhoff and Kotwica worked together on the New York Jets’ staff from 2009 to 2012 under coach Rex Ryan.

Westhoff is one of the most experienced special teams coaches in the league since he joined the Indianapolis Colts staff in 1982. He spent 15 years as the Miami Dolphins’ special teams coach and 12 seasons as the Jets’ special teams coach.

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The Bears have not changed offensive coordinators in the middle of the season since Perry Moss became Chicago’s first designated OC in 1970.

Waldron had come under heavy scrutiny in Chicago due to the offense’s overall performance and the recent struggles of rookie quarterback Caleb Williams.

The Bears (4-5) have lost three straight games, scoring a total of just 27 points over that stretch, and are averaging just 277.6 yards per game this season, the third lowest in the NFL.

Waldron, 45, was hired by the Bears on Jan. 23 after spending the previous three seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks. He replaced Luke Getsy, who was fired after two seasons in Chicago but then became the offensive coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders, only to be fired earlier this month.

Eberflus said during the hiring process last winter that the Bears were looking for a “great teacher” at the offensive coordinator post, likely anticipating using the first overall draft pick on a quarterback.

Despite overhauling the majority of their offensive coaching staff and dedicating high draft capital and free agent resources to upgrading the talent on offense, including using the No. 1 pick on Williams, Chicago has underperformed through 10 weeks of the season.

The Bears rank near the bottom of the NFL in points scored (24th), yards per carry (28th), yards per pass (30th), total yards (30th), third downs (31st) and yards per play (31st).

In Sunday’s home loss to the New England Patriots, Williams completed 16 of his 30 pass attempts for 120 yards, his lowest passing output since throwing for 93 yards in his NFL debut against the Tennessee Titans. Collectively, Chicago’s offense was 1-of-14 on third down (7%), its worst mark since 2012.

Williams was also sacked nine times by the Patriots, which brings his total from the past three games to 18. During Chicago’s recent losing streak, Williams has logged his three highest-pressure-percentage games of his career.

Brown is one season removed from serving as the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers, which coincided with 2023 first overall pick Bryce Young’s rookie season. Brown spent three seasons with the Los Angeles Rams coaching running backs and tight ends and was also the team’s assistant head coach from 2021 to 2022.

Brown also has playcalling experience at the collegiate level as the offensive coordinator and running backs coach for Miami from 2016 to 2018.

“Thomas is a bright offensive mind who has experience calling plays with a collaborative mindset. I look forward to his leadership over our offensive coaching staff and his plan for our players,” Eberflus said.