Matt Eberflus still seemed to have relative control of the locker room going into Thanksgiving. While the Chicago Bears were spiraling through a five-game losing streak, they just lost two hard-fought games against Green Bay and Minnesota. That gave off indications he hadn’t lost the locker room yet. As we all know, the breaking point would come moments after his timeout fiasco in Detroit, with Jaylon Johnson screaming at him in the post-game locker room. Most believe this was the first time such a thing had happened.
It was not.
Things really started coming apart a week earlier. As we all know, Chicago lost another heartbreaker in overtime to the Vikings. After climbing back into the game to tie it 27-27, the defense was unable to get a stop in their first attempt, allowing a Minnesota game-winning field goal. Apparently, defensive end DeMarcus Walker was irate with how Eberflus called plays in the extra period. He told Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times that the lack of aggressiveness and attention to detail was incredibly frustrating.
He made sure the head coach heard about it after the game.
Bears defensive end DeMarcus Walker said after Wednesday’s practice that he did something similar after the team lost in overtime to the Vikings the week before. Walker was frustrated by Eberflus’ defensive schemes late in the game.
“It was just like, certain plays called,” he said. “I just feel like that to where you gotta let your players play, you know?”
Walker didn’t name the specific play. Players had been frustrated, though, when the Vikings converted a third-and-10 overtime pass to a wide-open Jordan Addison for 13 yards after Eberflus had taken a timeout to set the defense.
“I was pissed,” Walker said. “You know what I’m saying? So like I said, to lose that many close games, we have to dial up and be more detailed.”
Matt Eberflus was already tipping over the edge.
It just reinforces the question of why the Bears waited as long as they did to dismiss him. The warning signs were evident for weeks that the locker room was turning against him. There was discontent after how he handled the end of the Washington game, not just on the field but off it. Players felt he didn’t accept any responsibility for the loss despite clear evidence he played a part. That was the first mistake. From there, his late-game stumbles only exacerbated the problem. Minnesota may not have been the final straw because it wasn’t on national TV, but one would think the team brass still should’ve seen the cliff coming.
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In fairness, recent reports suggest both GM Ryan Poles and team president Kevin Warren did see the issues. Unfortunately, ownership wasn’t willing to fire Matt Eberflus after his strong finish to last season. Not even the humiliating loss to New England was enough. Only after an all-time gaffe on national TV was the McCaskeys forced to do something. Better late than never. It’s obvious Walker and others weren’t sad to see Eberflus go.
