NFL Is Adding New Wrinkle If Bears Fire Matt Eberflus

The loss on Sunday to Minnesota marked two significant landmarks for Matt Eberflus. It pushed him to 4-19 as head coach of the Chicago Bears since he took over, by far the worst winning percentage in franchise history. It also pushed him to 0-8 against the NFC North, another all-time worst mark. That is inexcusable for any head coach, let alone one of the Bears. John Fox hit the reset button alongside Ryan Pace in 2015 and still managed to win six games in his first season. There is no getting around the fact that Eberflus isn’t good enough at his job.

It’s why expectations are high that Chicago will fire him after the 2023 season concludes. The only uncertainty is whether GM Ryan Poles will join him. Either way, the organization will look to start the search for a replacement quickly. There is one problem. It appears the NFL isn’t keen on letting that happen. According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, the league is considering a vote to push back in-person interviews for head coaching candidates until after the divisional round of the playoffs.

That could force the Bears to wait.

“The NFL is weighing whether to again push back in-person interviews for head coaching candidates at the end of the season, and sources say club owners are expected to vote on a proposal at next week’s league meetings in New York.

The league has for years tried to slow the process of head coach hirings. This proposal, according to sources, would prohibit teams from conducting an in-person interview with a coach employed with another club until after the divisional round weekend of the playoffs.

Teams with a head coaching vacancy would still be able to conduct interviews virtually with candidates under contract. Teams could also interview candidates in person who are not employed by another team. Lastly, teams can also conduct in-person interviews with in-house candidates.”

Patience will be required in replacing Matt Eberflus.

Historically, the Bears have always had a new head coach in place by the end of January at the latest. If this vote goes through, it may force them to wait until February. That is presuming they wish to speak to candidates who remain in the playoffs, as one would think. Then again, this team’s track record says otherwise. Eberflus wasn’t even in the playoffs before he got hired. Matt Nagy was out after the wild card round. It is puzzling that this organization wouldn’t want to speak with guys who help get their team to the doorstep of the Super Bowl or in it.

It will be interesting to see how Poles or the next GM handles this challenge. Will he demonstrate some patience so he can talk to the hottest candidates, or will he settle for guys who are available immediately? The reasoning behind the change is two-fold. Coaches in the playoffs don’t want to be distracted by interviews, and organizations hope that being forced to wait will expand the coaching candidate pool to become more diverse. There is no question this will create a different approach for the Bears once Matt Eberflus is out of the picture.