Who is Luke Getsy, and why do the Patriots see him as a potential offensive coordinator?

Getsy is one of two coaches to interview twice for the open position so far.

The New England Patriots’ offensive coordinator search is seemingly headed into its final stretch. The team has started to conduct in-person interviews with candidates, and two have so far met head coach Jerod Mayo and the rest of the team’s decision makers: former Patriots and current Los Angeles Rams tight ends coach Nick Caley, and former Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.

For more on Caley, who is considered a “finalist” for the open position, please take a look at his coaching profile. As for Getsy, meanwhile, here is a closer look at him — what his background as a coach looks like, and why the Patriots might be interested in his services.

Who is Luke Getsy?

Most recent position: Chicago Bears offensive coordinator (fired)

Age: 39

Playing background: Getsy’s career in football began at Steel Valley High School in Munhall, PA, where he served as the school’s first ever four-year starting quarterback and earned all-state honors as a senior. His record-breaking career allowed him to earn a football scholarship from the University of Pittsburgh, but after attempting just 13 passes in two years, he decided to transfer to Akron.

Getsy spent his final two college seasons with the Zips, where he saw increased opportunities as a starting QB and ended up setting 24 individual school records. Appearing in 25 games, he completed 52.7 percent of his passes for 6,117 yards, 41 touchdowns and 23 interceptions, while leading the team to a combined 12-13 record.

Getsy did successfully make the jump to the NFL out of college, but his career was a short one. After the San Francisco 49ers signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2007, he failed to make the team’s roster or practice squad and saw his active career come to an end.

Coaching background: Getsy returned to his alma mater quickly after his NFL career was over, and he began working as a graduate assistant under his former college coach Joe Moorhead at Akron in 2007 and 2008. The following year, he took his talents to West Virginia Wesleyan, where he worked as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the 2009 season — a year in which the team went 2-8 and averaged 22.2 points per game.

After one season with the Bobcats, Getsy returned to Pittsburgh to work as a graduate assistant under head coach Dave Wannstedt. His stint with the Panthers was short-lived again, and in 2011 he went to Indiana University of Pennsylvania as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Curt Cignetti.

In two seasons with the Crimson Hawks, he helped the school go 19-5 and win the PSAC Championship. Along the way, his offenses averaged 31.2 points per game.

Getsy’s success caught the eye of Western Michigan, where he served as wide receivers coach under new head coach P.J. Fleck and offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca in 2013, and the Green Bay Packers: in 2014, head coach Mike McCarthy’s team hired him as an offensive quality control coach.

After two seasons in that position, he was promoted to wide receivers coach in 2016. Under his guidance, Davante Adams made his first of six straight Pro Bowls and the Jordy Nelson had a 1,257-yard, 14-touchdown season. Two years into his tenure as the Packers’ wideouts coach, however, he left to reunite with his old college coach — Joe Moorhead — at Mississippi State.

Getsy spent one year with the Bulldogs, coordinating an offense that averaged 28.5 points each game and ranked 68th in the country in 2018. He returned to Green Bay the following year, to coach quarterbacks under new head coach Matt LaFleur. He added passing game coordinator responsibilities over the next two seasons.

In 2022, new Bears head coach Matt Eberflus decided to bring him aboard as his offensive coordinator. The union did not work out as planned, however: while former first-round quarterback Justin Fields did show some strides under Getsy, the Bears ranked just 23rd (19.2) and 18th (21.2) in points per game each year, while also finishing in the bottom third of the league in other statistical metrics.

Unhappy with what he later called the “growth and the development of the offense,” Eberflus decided to fire Getsy as well as five of his assistant coaches following the Bears’ 7-10 season. Since then, he has drawn interest from the Patriots and New Orleans Saints.

Why do the Patriots see him as a potential offensive coordinator?

In order to assess this question, we touched base with Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. of SB Nation’s Bears blog, Windy City Gridiron. Here is what he told us about the Patriots’ coaching candidate.

How would you assess the job Getsy has done in Chicago? In Year 1, it took him a while, but he eventually was able to adapt his scheme around the lack of talent on his offense. His offense was completely altered to make Justin Fields’ athletic ability the focal point, and Fields was named to the player’s top 100 NFL Players list. But in Year 2, it was like he forgot everything that worked in Year 1 and wanted to call the plays he wanted to call.

Also, the Shanahan/McVay type of scheme that the Bears thought they were getting never materialized, which is a big reason he was let go. Head coach Matt Eberflus said that scheme was the toughest to defend, yet Getsy wasn’t really running much of it.

How do you think he impacted Justin Fields’ development during their time together? As stated above, in Year 1, he showed some things to build on, but he never built off them in 2023. Fields has his own issues, but Getsy’s odd blocking schemes, his bad spacing for receivers in the passing game, inconsistent play calls, and his conservative nature did Fields no favors. Perhaps Eberflus was holding back some of the aggressiveness, but the play sequencing was questionable.

Almost the entire offensive staff was fired, and Fields may be dealt with, so that’s a good indication of how the marriage between QB and coaches went.

What do you think makes Getsy an attractive candidate for the Patriots? I don’t. But to be fair, he was a young play caller in Chicago, so the best may be ahead for him. He seemed to want a specific style of offense to be executed, so if he gets everything in place he needs from a talent perspective, he may be able to find some success.

Every fan base can’t stand the coordinators, but Getsy made some truly head-scratching calls with the Bears. Good luck if this is the direction the Pats go.