Dick Vermeil once said if you don’t win in your first two seasons as a head coach, you better win your third or you’re not going to be there anymore. Matt Eberflus faces that exact situation in 2024. Thus far, his tenure has been predictably chaotic as the Chicago Bears have undergone a rebuild. They went 3-14 his first season and made some strides in 2023, finishing 7-10 with notable improvement on the roster. However, expectations are raised now. Fans have been patient long enough. They want to see legitimate progress from this team.
That begs the question. Is Eberflus on the hot seat if he doesn’t make the playoffs? Insider Matt Lombardo addressed this topic on his YouTube channel. From what he’s gathered on the situation, making the playoffs isn’t what will decide Eberflus’ fate. Sure, if the team takes a significant step back this season, he may lose his job, but it isn’t the postseason that will determine his fate. His job squarely depends on how he and his coaching staff handle the development of quarterback Caleb Williams.
Matt Eberflus seems to understand this reality.
All one has to do is note the team’s actions throughout the off-season. They fired Luke Getsy in favor of a more experienced offensive coordinator, somebody with a track record for elevating quarterbacks. Shane Waldron did great work with Geno Smith in Seattle. Next, the Bears invested the bulk of their resources into the offense. D’Andre Swift was their biggest free agent signing. They traded for Keenan Allen and selected Rome Odunze at #9 overall after grabbing Williams at #1. One could argue if Eberflus were secure in his position, he might’ve pushed for more help on defense.
GM Ryan Poles has insisted up and down that the Bears have no plans to move on from the head coach. They’ve known from the start it would take time for this team to start winning. This project was about building for the long term. Still, modern fans aren’t known for their patience. Bears fans have seen only one winning season from this franchise in a decade. Matt Eberflus can’t rely on a rookie quarterback to save him. He needs to start winning football games.
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Eberflus is fine, his seat is as cool as a cucumber. But Ryan Poles will be on the hot seat if we don’t come out of the gate 4-0 on the strength of exceptional QB play from a QB1 who is said to be generational. Read it again.
No Erik Eberflus is not on the hot seat. The Chicago media was dead wrong last year but don’t expect them to ever admit it, as usual. Furthermore, the DC background that is Eberflus strength was undermined by the GM until Sweat was acquired. A valid 3-tech required for the Cover-2 remains an unfulfilled goal as does a valid DE opposite Sweat. The QB is really the GM’s decision. Poles put all his money on CW. We have a new OC and the OC’s staff to manage the QB. Eberflus will be fine IF: 1) CW is as advertised and/or… Read more »
Although more artistic in a non-Hellenic/symmetrical way, the worst things, including plane crashes, seem to come in threes. Flus can break this ugly cycle by winning 10 games in his third year.
Did not read. Our HC has a beard.
We really still do not know the final result of Pole’s trade with the Panthers. The Bears need to actually win and compete for a championship for *any* moves made by this regime to be more than mere footnotes. To put it another way – when Jerry Angelo traded for Jay Cutler most analysts and Bear fans thought that the Bears wait for a franchise QB were over. A mere five years later, that trade was viewed in a very different light. Likewise, when Poles traded for Chase Claypool, most observers believed he had taken a major step toward helping… Read more »