Jerry Glanville had an iconic quote about the NFL, saying it meant “Not For Long.” He said this after a bad call by a ref that might’ve cost his team a game. A few more like them and he’d “be bagging groceries.” That was a perfect window into the reality of being an NFL head coach. If you don’t win games, then your job security isn’t going to last long. It sounds absurd to think Matt Eberflus is on the hot seat going into 2023. He’s only been the Chicago Bears head coach for one season. A year in which the roster was basically torn down to the stubs.
Former NFL general manager Jeff Diamond understands this. He acknowledged in an article for The 33rd Team that Eberflus dealt with some difficult circumstances in 2022. That said, it doesn’t change the fact he went 3-14 in his first year and lost ten straight games. The Bears better improve next season, or the organization may seek alternatives at the job as their rebuild continues.
“There’s nowhere to go but up for Eberflus and the Chicago Bears. They enter 2023 with the most salary cap room in the league ($98 million) and the top pick in the draft after a 3-14 record. This all bodes well for Eberflus to take a solid step forward after ending last season with 10 consecutive losses…
…I think Eberflus’ seat is warm after such a poor first year, but he should have a chance to show improvement with an influx of talent in Year 2. That had better be the case, or the patience of Bears ownership may quickly wear thin.”
This is hardly unprecedented. Head coaches have been canned in less than three seasons many times. If there is a sense Eberflus doesn’t have things pointed in the right direction, a change could happen fast.
Matt Eberflus remains consistent in his approach.
That is one of the strengths of his coaching style. Everybody is held to the same standard. Players are expected to work hard and give maximum effort on every play during games. To his credit, the team did this for most of 2022. It was simply evident they didn’t have the necessary talent to close out some of the close games they played. That is why there is optimism the Bears should be far more competitive, presuming free agency and the draft go as planned. An influx of young, athletic bodies should make this roster more formidable.
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Nobody is panicking yet. Bears fans know the situation. This team has to close to talent gap before they can start blaming Matt Eberflus for everything. He got everything he could from a roster lacking any discernible star power. Justin Fields took a step forward as a quarterback. The Bears had a dominant running game. The defense was halfway decent against the pass despite zero pass rush. Eberflus is no stranger to challenges. He’s overcome them many times in his coaching career. This one is no different.
Hmm, was this “former GM” fired from his job?
Really? Ok. He’s not on the hot seat. He was given his marching orders to run Fields out there and let him play college football to showcase for a trade. Poles and Flus aren’t going anywhere for a while.. certainly not after a year.
Matt Eberfluis is a good coach but when he has the talented players to compete, he will be an even better coach. His staff are teachers and the foundation they have laid is for players to hustle, be aggressive, and take the ball away on defense, and ball control of offense.
I’ll have to be completely honest: He should be on the hot seat! The defense was almost Mel Tucker level bad. Why didn’t he inject himself more into the Defensive play calling if he is such a “Defensive mastermind” ? Clearly Alan Williams was not up to snuff (also like his previous stops). I’d say make Getsy HC before he leaves to be the Head Coach somewhere else and bites us in the butt while also not making JF1 learn another new offensive scheme.
I don’t believe he will be on the hot seat, but based upon the quick successes of the Jaguars and Giants last season, he won’t be getting too much more time to “build a team”. So, to use George McCaskey’s words when he hired him, Flus needs to show improvement.