The Chicago Bears appear to have a roster capable of competing with good teams. It’s far from playoff-ready, but there is evidence of a young core forming. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to tell because the team keeps losing. Much of this comes from an ongoing sense that coaching is a big problem. Matt Eberflus and his staff have shown little evidence to suggest they have this team pointed in the right direction. Mental mistakes continue to plague them in big moments. His personnel management is terrible, and the schemes might be worse.
Unless he manages to win some games down the stretch and have it look like the team is improving, it’s hard not to see Eberflus getting fired. From that point, the Bears job might be one of the most coveted in the league. Not only do they have a young, talented roster coming together, but they’re also on pace to hold two picks in the top-5 of the 2024 draft. That means they have a solid chance to land a top quarterback and another potential blue-chip talent. So it’s hardly a surprise potential coaches are watching Chicago carefully. A pretty notable one is among them, at least according to Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post.
That is Bill Belichick.
“If he wants to walk, they’re going to let him walk. In their heart of hearts, they’d rather him walk than them have to fire him. Or say, “You can stay, but somebody else is picking the players.” I just think Bob Kraft, after getting as messy as it did with Brady, that everybody knows where this is heading. I heard a lot of rumors about him wanting Washington. I’ve heard a lot of rumors about Belichick being very interested in Chicago. I think him breaking Shula’s record in Foxborough isn’t the end-all-be-all for him. Who’s going to give him the kind of control he’s used to? I’m not sure he’s going to see that.”
Chicago Bears fans will undoubtedly have opinions on this.
Most probably won’t like it. After all, his golden age as the best head coach in the NFL ended after Tom Brady left in 2020. He’s had one winning season over the past three years and is 2-7 this season. It is by far his worst year as head coach since 2000. At age 71, it’s hard not to think he might finally be out of gas. That said, the legacy speaks for itself. Belichick has six Super Bowl rings as a head coach and made the big game nine times. His defenses have consistently ranked in the top 10 almost every year since he took over. When he has good quarterback play, his teams win.
If he leaves New England, the Chicago Bears have to at least think about the possibility, presuming Belichick’s interest is genuine. It would come down to how comfortable they are giving the job to a coach this close to retirement. His desire to control personnel will also be a big point of contention. That is something the organization has rarely afforded its head coaches, and Belichick’s recent track record is ugly. It might come down to how comfortable he’d be working with Ryan Poles.
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That has an interesting subplot since the Bears’ general manager was mentored by Scott Pioli, who was the primary executive for the Patriots during their first dynasty phase in the 2000s.
