The Bears’ season-ending news conferences took place on Wednesday afternoon. Ryan Poles gave an explanation for his decision to keep Matt Eberflus as the Bears’ head coach.
The Bears made a perplexing, almost boxed-in decision regarding their coaching staff on Wednesday.
Luke Getsy, the offensive coordinator, was among the five coaches the team decided to let go. In addition, they dismissed assistant tight ends coach Tim Zetts, running backs coach Omar Young, wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert, and quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko.
However, they also made the decision to keep Matt Eberflus and the present defensive personnel.
For what reason did they act in such way?
Ryan Poles described Eberflus as “just in terms of his leadership and stability” on Wednesday. “I firmly believe that the head coach should be able to steer the ship through stormy seas and maintain order.” In a large market like this, being able to keep everyone together during difficult times is crucial. You must possess strength. It would be a complete mess if he were to leap off the boat and everyone else followed suit.
Stability played a major role in it. He provided coaching to the detail, helping us to ensure that we were practicing the correct way by applying some of the mistakes from the game. I noticed significant advancement in it. We increased from three to seven wins for a purpose. The importance of the player cannot be overstated, but so is the importance of the little things, like pulling together as a team and persevering through difficult moments to overcome obstacles, which you saw happen frequently in the latter part of the season. I don’t believe that to be the case if it’s not for him.
I believe it begins to fall apart. Everyone gets to work on their own projects. Thus, in my opinion, that was a crucial component of us.”
Poles praises Eberflus for how the club overcame a number of challenges during the season. He’s accurate. The Bears were a complete wreck at the start of the season.
I believe it begins to fall apart. Everyone gets to work on their own projects. Thus, in my opinion, that was a crucial component of us.”
Poles praises Eberflus for how the club overcame a number of challenges during the season. He’s accurate. The Bears were a complete wreck at the start of the season.
They started the season 0–4, losing badly to the Green Bay Packers, losing badly to the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, and blowing a 21-point lead to the Denver Broncos at home.
Throughout the season, there were several coaching changes. Alan Williams, the defensive coordinator, abruptly quit from his post. David Walker, the running backs coach, was also fired by the Bears for failing to meet the organization’s expectations.
Additionally, wide receiver Chase Claypool was cut by the Bears. For Claypool, the Poles originally sent a second-round pick in the 2023 draft, which ended up becoming a de facto first-round pick. Their trust in him held after a season with virtually little output. They traded him to Miami this season based on his lackluster performance and apparent lack of value in the locker room.
The Bears held their strength in the face of all that. Out of the last eight games, they have won five. The Bears concluded their home schedule this season with a 5-3 record after winning their last five games. By the end of the season, Justin Fields had improved and the defense was among the best in the league.
That’s what coaching produces. And that is what Poles meant when he claimed that Eberflus “captained the ship,” given the magnitude of the storms that occurred during the season.
The Bears, however, are taking a number of chances by bringing back Eberflus. They’re expecting him to succeed in a season where the head coach will undoubtedly be in hot water. This makes it very challenging to hire new offensive staff because their employment status will be at stake when they arrive.
The Bears acknowledged that they haven’t made up their minds on keeping Justin Fields. Fields will have to learn a third offense in four years if they decide to keep him. In that case, Eberflus is probably going to get two years and will stay on as head coach as long as things continue to improve after the first year.
However, if the Bears select a quarterback in the draft, that signal caller will already have the head coach’s job on the line. That might turn into something like what happened to Fields during his first two seasons in the league. He began his career with head coach Matt Nagy, who was let go following his rookie campaign. Fields then had to get used to Eberflus and Getsy.
By keeping Eberflus, the Bears put themselves in a silly scenario. However, he earned respect after enduring multiple setbacks for the Bears this season. The Bears chose to give him credit for his leadership by keeping him on staff as a result.
