One loss early in the season normally doesn’t shift the status of a head coach, especially in October. However, Washington wasn’t a typical loss for Matt Eberflus. His team looked unprepared and outcoached for most of the afternoon, failing to score any points until the 4th quarter. However, Matt Eberflus found a way to ruin his team’s chances at a signature comeback win with three baffling decisions in the span of mere moments.
It started with allowing Shane Waldron to call the hand-off to backup lineman Doug Kramer at the goal line, resulting in a catastrophic fumble. Next was his decision not to play tighter coverage on the second-to-last play, handing the Commanders a free 13 yards to get them in Hail Mary range. Last but not least, he refused to call a timeout when it was clear cornerback Tyrique Stevenson wasn’t watching the play. These inexcusable blunders and yet another late-game collapse have many calling for Eberflus’ job. Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog reached out to sources to get a sense of where that situation is at.
The answers he got back were telling.
But on the drive from DC to Newark Monday, and throughout the day Tuesday, I texted everyone, trying to gauge what the league-wide consensus was on Matt Eberflus. Here is what I gathered in that informal survey.
– Eberflus is an exceptionally well-liked man in the league.
– Said one personnel guy: “Never make decisions after a Hail Mary loss.” (And he’s been through a bad one.)
– Said one scout: “The Ben Johnson/Breer leak was interesting timing. Johnson smells blood in the water.” I had to sit with this text a bit. Is Ben Johnson really thinking about his NEXT job in October, while being the OC of a team that looks like the overwhelming favorite to make the Super Bowl from the NFC?
– Said one former personnel guy, now a TV guy: “These next few games are very important.”
Matt Eberflus is running out of runway.
Firstly, don’t expect any decision from the Bears right now. We all know their history. No head coach has ever been fired midseason, and they won’t do it when the team is still 4-3 and in the playoff hunt. For all his faults, Eberflus doesn’t seem to rub people the wrong way as other head coaches might. That isn’t a surprise. Still, two things are clear. The sharks are already circling. Ben Johnson, the presumptive top candidate for next offseason, is keenly eyeing the Bears job. That is hardly a surprise, what with an elite defense and an ascending young quarterback in Caleb Williams. He probably isn’t the only one.
The other part is the next two games. They will be against the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots, one middling team and one bad team. On paper, the Bears are superior to both. If they win both as they should, they will be 6-3 going into their second-half schedule featuring six divisional games, the 49ers and the Seahawks. Matt Eberflus would likely need only four wins from that stretch for a reasonable shot at the playoffs. However, those chances are negligible if he’s 5-4 or 4-5.
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So yeah, no pressure.
Well said, Bears57.
Kayleae13 is more believable than what Lambert craps out on this site. I read this mostly for the comments. They make me laugh. Like Steven Sallie always talking about being a (dandy) lion. Classic!!!
I get my (actual) news from waiting until shit actually happens.
TGena Didn’t you really mean, “Don’t Fear the Reaper?” Well it is Halloween in the UK too, sort of.
By “Insider” Lambert, per usual, means someone like himself who has no direct knowledge from within the Bears organization and makes a living leaching clicks off of a well known, global brand’s notoriety.
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Desire to really learn about CB Stevo? Simply ask him what he thinks he deserves for a penalty, and then follow through with it, as known by the public. Or media, at least ask him to get a response, if any.