Chicago Bears fire RB coach David Walker, reportedly for workplace behavior

The Bears fired running backs coach David Walker on Wednesday. Per a report from ESPN, Walker was fired for his workplace behavior. The Athletic first reported the firing.

In a media session Wednesday, head coach Matt Eberflus said that the Bears “have a standard to uphold to, and when that standard is not met, we act accordingly.”

Per ESPN’s report, Walker previously was reprimanded by the Bears’ human resources department.

Eberflus called the development “disappointing.” He said the decision was not his alone. General manager Ryan Poles, team president Kevin Warren and other Bears top decision-makers were involved.

“The standard has to be met, and when it’s not met, you make a decision,” Eberflus said.

Walker has coached at the high school, college and NFL levels since 1994. Before joining the Bears in 2022, the 53-year-old coach last coached in the NFL with the Detroit Lions from 2016 to 2018. Walker left coaching in January 2019. At the time, the Lions said he was leaving to spend more time with his family. Walker took three years off before joining the Bears coaching staff when Eberflus was hired in early 2022.

Walker is the second Bears assistant coach to leave the team during this season. Former defensive coordinator Alan Williams resigned in late September. ESPN’s Adam Schefter later reported that Williams also left because of inappropriate conduct at work.

Eberflus said the two incidents were not related. The head coach maintained that his team has a good culture, despite two coaches leaving midseason because of workplace conduct.

“The culture in our building is outstanding, the guys work hard every single day,” Eberflus said. “The relationship piece is there. We care about each other. We’re working diligently to get this thing turned.”

Asked if he has to win back the trust of employees at Halas Hall, Eberflus said, “I think the trust is stronger because we took action.”

Eberflus, who is 5-20 since taking over as Bears coach, said he felt that the organization had left no stone unturned when vetting assistant coaches in 2022. But he said the staff will continue to look at everything when making hires in the future.

“We’re all disappointed,” Eberflus said. “It’s never good when this has to happen.”

Omar Young, who previously was assistant wide receivers and quarterbacks coach, will take over as running backs coach this week.