The Chicago Bears brass of GM Ryan Poles and team president Kevin Warren made the decision to retain Matt Eberflus this off-season for multiple reasons. For one, he’d done a great job improving the defense after taking over play-calling. The team had improved from 3-14 to 7-10 in his second year. Last but not least, both believed there was value in continuity at that job rather than knee-jerk change. However, others felt it was the perfect time. Problems were already surfacing with Eberflus’ game management, specifically an inability to close things out in the 4th quarter. There was also the growing likelihood they would start fresh at quarterback.
In the end, the status quo was chosen, and that decision may now be haunting the Bears. Once again, after taking the lead in a game, Eberflus found a way to give it back in a heartbreaking fashion. What’s worse, the collapse can be directly traced back to some egregious decisions by both him and his staff. It was the hand-off to Doug Kramer at the 1-yard line that was fumbled. It was allowing a 13-yard completion to get Washington in range to try a Hail Mary. Finally, it was not calling a timeout (when he had all three) to make sure players were on the same page.
Mind you, these criticisms are just being voiced by fans and mainstream media. They came from key members of the Bears locker room, and they said it publicly.
Matt Eberflus is in serious trouble.
Remember that these comments come from some of the most respected members of the locker room. This isn’t a disgruntled bench player sounding off. These are the team leaders. It raises a gigantic red flag when they question the head coach’s situational awareness. Guys remained quiet about it last year because the team was still rebuilding and Eberflus was still finding his footing as a head coach. This is Year 3. The learning period is over. This team is too talented to still give games away like that, and they know it.
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Matt Eberflus has managed to avoid losing the locker room thus far. He survived the 28-7 collapse against Denver, the 12-points-in-four-minutes loss in Detroit, and the choke job in Cleveland against Joe Flacco. Those were all bad. This one feels different because coaching decisions played a far greater role in the downfall. What’s worse is that Eberflus didn’t take much accountability for it. He gave his usual tone-deaf platitudes, mentioned lack of execution, and said he’d have to look at the tape.
Stuff like that isn’t flying anymore. Players won’t let him escape responsibility anymore, and that puts his job in question.
