The Chicago Bears are at a crucial turning point. With a 4-5 record, they are preparing for a home game against the Green Bay Packers. Tension is high after a chaotic few weeks, particularly the last 48 hours. On Tuesday, the Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, and on Wednesday, head coach Matt Eberflus spoke to the media. Eberflus answered a range of questions, handling most with professionalism and taking responsibility, as most head coaches do. However, when asked if benching quarterback Caleb Williams was a possibility this season, Eberflus didn’t dismiss the idea—he left it open as a potential option.
“We are looking at everything week to week. We always do that. What’s best for the football team.”
This statement indicates that the Bears made a huge mistake by choosing to retain Matt Eberflus as their head coach.
The Bears’ biggest nightmare is becoming reality.
Matt Eberflus’s unwillingness to rule out benching Caleb Williams this season underscores why a coach lacking job security shouldn’t be responsible for developing a rookie quarterback. Eberflus is feeling the pressure to win, which often conflicts with the patience required for a rookie QB. Growing pains were expected in Caleb Williams’ first year, as rookie quarterbacks rarely have a smooth learning curve, and Williams is no exception.
Yet, despite being on his third offensive coordinator since joining the Bears, Eberflus has hinted he might bench Williams if things don’t improve under new OC Thomas Brown. This approach isn’t fair to Williams or to Bears fans. Benching him risks damaging his confidence, which could hurt his long-term development. Eberflus even acknowledged on Wednesday that the best way for Williams to grow is through real-game experience. And yet, here we are again, with Eberflus contradicting himself and fueling unnecessary speculation.
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@Demented & Hate 30IQ You said Packers by 42-7. I say the Bears are going to almost play their hearts out and the game will be much closer, if only they had fired Flus too before this game.
The problem in Chicago is lack of offense! It’s not the talent, it’s the coaching. If the Bears had hired Kliff Kingsbury instead of Shane Waldron we wouldn’t be having this discussion. Coach Eberflus chose Waldron instead of Kingsbury because he was afraid Kingsbury could possibly replace him as head coach. Kingsbury is currently coaching Jayden Daniels for the Washington Commanders and he’s looking like he’ll be the rookie of the year. It could have been Caleb Williams here in Chicago.
Funny that when I was mentioning David Carr as an example of ruining a quarterback by sack, Erik Lambert thought Justin Fields was just incompetent and holding the ball too long. These offensive coordinators are not GIVING the quarterback any place to go with the ball. No one is open, there aren’t enough options and all the receiver options are in one place. Bagent threw the ball with anticipation to where he thought receivers would be . . . and repeatedly threw interceptions in double and triple coverage. Fields didn’t throw into double and triple coverage (except Hail Mary passes)… Read more »
I don’t get it. Why not hire EVERY SINGLE SM commenter, and fire ALL of the coaches. There is more observation and awareness and ideas here than in Halas Hall. Why are THOSE guys getting paid?
This is a bogus argument. Again, once Lambert gets on a kick, he reaches for straws to justify his argument, making up whatever rationale he can. Benching or sitting doesn’t matter. Neither “affects the confidence” or in any way alters how a intelligent human being thinks. What DOES affect confidence is asking someone to do the impossible (for instance carry a coordinator who is far inferior to the players and win games against teams who ACTUALLY have awareness of changing situations). When people are critical of players, you need to consider that a majority of players (not all, there are… Read more »