Matt Eberflus has survived a lot in his time as Chicago Bears head coach. He watched his team lose 14 consecutive games between October 30th, 2022, and October 1st, 2023. He’s seen opponents erase double-digit leads in the 4th quarter to steal wins on three separate occasions. Last but not least, he became the victim of a Hail Mary after erasing a double-digit deficit to take the lead. Fans have grown fed up with Eberflus constantly coming up short in big moments. However, the organization remains firmly behind its head coach.
There have even been rumors that Eberflus will not be fired regardless of what happens the rest of the season. He signed a five-year contract in 2022 with the express purpose of maintaining continuity through what would be a complete rebuild. Truth be told, it is hard to trust that it is true. You see, there is one thing about Bears history that has been consistent for decades. No head coach has ever kept his job in Chicago after three straight losing seasons. Not once.
Jim Dooley: 1969-1971
- Fired in 1972
Abe Gibron: 1972-1974
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- Fired in 1975
Dave Wannstedt: 1996-1998
- Fired in 1999
John Fox: 2015-2017
- Fired in 2018
Matt Eberflus might already be doomed.
As we know, he already went 3-14 and 7-10 the past two years. He’s currently 4-4. He must go 5-4 over the remaining nine games to avoid a third straight losing record. The odds of that happening feel astronomical, even if the Bears take care of business on Sunday against New England. Their final eight games featured five teams. Four of them have records of .500 or better. Eberflus is 6-19 against such teams.
- Detroit Lions (7-1)
- Minnesota Vikings (6-2)
- Green Bay Packers (6-3)
- San Francisco 49ers (4-4)
Matt Eberflus is currently 2-10 against the NFC North, and those teams are better than the ones he faced the previous two years. San Francisco is the defending NFC champion, and even their game against Seattle will be challenging. Feel free to point out where the five wins are. The Bears are 20th against the run and just lost their most vital run-stopper in defensive tackle Andrew Billings. Three of those teams rank in the top 6 for rushing. Chicago’s offense is one of the worst in the NFL at handling the blitz. Four of those games are against two of the most blitz-happy defenses in the league.
Are you starting to understand why Eberflus might be cooked? He needs a miracle at this point.
@Dr. Melhus Appreciate your analysis and disagreement. I haven’t been watching the sidelines activity during games, but last year, the team seemed to do better at the end of games when the coaches seemed to give up, and players just said “to hell with it,” and what made sense to them. Getting tired of the incoherent mumbo-jumbo of incoherent coaches, leaves players just doing things without the coaches, and sometimes doing better. I thought Fields’ problem mostly stemmed from his trying to support Getsy instead of ignoring Getsy. But then, Fields would probably be benched if he was obvious about… Read more »
If you desire terrified, as I do. Then watch Terrifier 1 and Terrifier 2. They are almost as good as House of a 1000 Corpses and the Devil’s Rejects, but with no music. More in line with Hostel 1, 2, & 3, but more focused. The game against the Patriots should not be terrifying, just pathetic at worst.
@PoochPest: I disagree about Flus’s adjustments. Actually, I think that’s one of his strengths (albeit not a great strength). Case in point: when the defense is playing well, it usually does so-so in the beginning of the game, and then puts the clamps on later on. Second half shutouts are not uncommon. So one could argue the defense, when on, finishes better than it starts, which implies adjustment. Likewise, the offense often starts terribly, and then wakes up at some point and starts putting points on the board. 15 against Washington in the last 20 minutes or so, and the… Read more »
Even the “lousy” Raiders were smart enough to dump failure. To recognize failure in the disguise of a guy from Central Casting who was dressed for, looked like, and held the prop (call sheet) of, a “real” offensive coordinator.
It took the Bears TWO years to figure out they were being conned. It took the Raiders 6 games.
How ya gonna get better if you aren’t smart enough to know when the dog is peeing on your leg?
While Winning is the goal, two things stand out about Eberflus as a head coach (well, three): He knows defense, and multiple defensive draft picks and young players showed marked improvement through his tenure, but NO offensive rookie, or young players (or even veteran) showed improvement through his tenure. So as a head coach, he can’t tell, or see, or know how to correct the trajectory of his players or coaches on the offensive side. Two, he is indecisive. He has proven, repeatedly, that he can’t adjust to another team’s adjustment, and he uses “loyalty” as an excuse for not… Read more »