Things change fast in the NFL. A few weeks ago, Matt Eberflus looked like he finally had the Chicago Bears on the winning path, claiming three straight victories going into the bye week. Then, a brutal Hail Mary loss in Washington followed by a rout in Arizona left many believing it was a mirage. This is who Eberflus is. He calls a great defense, but he is woefully inadequate when it comes to actual head coaching. Poor situational awareness. Poor late-game execution. Lacking the ability to motivate.
Barring an unexpected turnaround in the coming weeks, most believe Eberflus is staring down the likelihood of getting fired. Three losing seasons in a row will do that. Candidates are already eyeing the job with intrigue. However, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune may have poured ice water on those hopes for many fans. In his recent mailbag, he dropped a shocking update involving Eberflus’ contract. It appears next year won’t be his last, signaling the Bears may have always intended to keep him longer than expected.
“While I was under the assumption Eberflus signed a four-year contract when he was hired, I’m now led to believe he actually signed a five-year deal that runs through the 2026 season. If you think about it, when you’re selling the idea of a rebuild and preaching patience, it stands to reason Eberflus would seek a deal longer than four years, and from what I’m told, I believe he got that. You may recall I asked Eberflus directly about the length of his contract when he was hired, and he declined to say.”
The likely explanation for this Matt Eberflus decision.
GM Ryan Poles knew going into his first year in 2022 that he was going to tear the roster down. That meant a complete rebuild. It would take time. For it to work, he needed to make sure there was stability at head coach. A five-year contract would, theoretically, ensure that compared to four years. That is because Poles likely knew he would draft a quarterback at some point along the way. One of the biggest issues the Bears have had is firing head coaches a year after drafting QBs. It happened with John Fox in 2018 and Matt Nagy in 2022. Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields never panned out as a result. They may not want to repeat history with Caleb Williams.
The problem is that Matt Eberflus continues to show his lack of competence at building an offensive structure that will help a young quarterback. His first offensive coordinator, Luke Getsy, was a bust, and now it appears his second, Shane Waldron, isn’t much better. Keeping that hierarchy in place for the sake of continuity is terrible logic. They tried continuity on the offensive line this year and look where that got them. Eberflus isn’t cut out for the job. The number of years left on his contract shouldn’t alter the decision.
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Can we have an honest conversation about Poles? The Montez sweat deal, though not cheap, seems solid; he deserves credit for locking down Jaylon and DJ Moore; and his signature move–the trade of the top pick– has always looked pretty good in a vacuum but was in large part a result of incredible luck. However, he was too patient with Fields, he absolutely blew the Claypool deal, the Nate Davis deal absolutely sucks, he passed on CJ Stroud, he passed on significantly improving the OL in front of his new franchise QB, he gave a completely inexperienced (and pretty bad)… Read more »
Further evidence that Poles doesn’t know what he’s doing and ultimately that the McCaskey’s don’t either
I don’t know why any organization would sign a brand new guy to head coaching to a 5 year contract. If he’s a great coach and a solid fit for the team you extend him after 3 years he’s not going anywhere. Unlike a coordinator who could very well end up leaving you after a year or two.
OK, THIS is why you don’t allow GMs to sell you on long rebuilds. If you aren’t ready to compete – not win the Super Bowl – but compete at a high level by your 3rd season with a team it only gets harder. So you gave Eberflus a five year deal, and that tells you there was NO PLAN to compete any time soon. Now, I’ve come to the conclusion that Poles and Eberflus both need to go. Eberflus for general incompetence, and Poles for failing to have this team ready to support his choice at QB, and to… Read more »
Who signed off on or pushed for this gruesome five-year contract? As with any contract each party also has rights and responsibilities often with specifications, caveats, and ways-out. Bears need to eat the last two years and fire him. I don’t care what Flus makes because if you can waste $30,000,000 on a known lazy guard, Davis, and more on a few others, then payoff Flus because at least he tried to be good and just failed. Flus was smart to ask for five years due to an expected tear-down and a lengthy rebuild due to both Pace and Poles.… Read more »