Two big questions have lingered around the Chicago Bears as the season winds down. What will they do with quarterback Justin Fields and head coach Matt Eberflus? It appears GM Ryan Poles and team president Kevin Warren have reached a decision on one of those. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Eberflus is expected to return in 2024 for a third season. This isn’t exactly a surprise. While questions linger about Eberflus’ ability to handle crunch-time situations, the Bears have played a lot better in the second half of the season. They’re 6-5 in their last 11 games and boast one of the NFL’s best defenses.
Some Bears fans may not like this idea, but it’s hard to deny that Eberflus has handled himself well despite some rough circumstances. He accepted Poles completely tearing down the roster in his first season, kickstarting a rebuild. Then he had to deal with a franchise-record 14-game losing streak. There was his defensive coordinator and running backs coach both getting dismissed from the team for undisclosed HR purposes. Last but not least, you have three 4th quarter collapses in two months where his team lost a double-digit lead.
Holding the locker room together through all that is almost impossible. Eberflus did.
Matt Eberflus staying makes the QB decision murkier.
The decision to keep him is straightforward. The team is starting to win more. They’re excelling on defense. However, everybody knows the quarterback issues are what will determine this team’s fate. It doesn’t look like Eberflus’ choice of offensive coordinator, Luke Getsy, has been able to solve the Fields puzzle. That means one of two things will happen over the next month or two. Either the Bears will replace Getsy, hoping a new coordinator can utilize Fields better. Or they will start over at quarterback with what will likely be the #1 overall pick.
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If we’re going by the reaction of teammates, the decision is easy. Fields must stay. He’s done enough to justify another year, making steady progress as a passer. However, the decision rests with Poles. No doubt Matt Eberflus will have a say in this if he does stick around. Neither man drafted Fields. While they may love him as a leader, his continued inconsistency as a pocket passer remains a sticking point. If he does stay, that makes the Bears’ off-season plans crystal clear.
@PoochPest – you need to look at this decision from a big picture perspective – from Warren’s view. If they keep Fields, and they keep Eberflus, then there is a very high chance that Warren is looking at this as a package deal. Meaning that if results aren’t coming next season, think winning the North, Warren will get rid of all three of them. From Warren’s POV it makes perfect sense. He can go in and tell George – “These guys have had three years together, that’s a long time in a league where teams go from worst to division… Read more »
Every comment here that wants to dump or trade coaches or Fields should go back a few days and look at coaches and quarterbacks chased or dumped. Yes, they’re college games, but they are indicative of people (fans, writers, coaches, athletic directors getting panicked by statistics instead of looking at what is actually wrong. OSU, USC and OU are all good indications of the results of overreaction. Ohio State got upset that Kyle McCord lost to Michigan. He didn’t lose to Michigan last year, CJ Stroud did, and he was a first year QB doing what he was told by… Read more »
And just like that, a once promising Bears’ future evaporates like the morning dew…
Ah well, hopefully whatever aged, incompetent, timid OC that Eberflus hires as his new offensive guru will learn something from the fate of previous coaches here and mind his office P’s and Q’s. It would be nice to at least not be a laughingstock again for half a season.
Poles has now made his “own” HC choice – he officially owns Eberflus. For good, or ill. It’s all now on him.
Whoever the OC is will probably point to the QB plan. I can’t see Reich or EB being good fits for JF1 either.
I wrote this all over but I think it happens: If Frank Reich doesn’t get a HC offer he will be Eberflus #1 target to bring in as Getsy’s replacement. They are friends. Flus’ trusts him. He’s very experienced and a former QB in the league. Maybe not the best in the business, but a major upgrade over Getsy.