When Matt Eberflus became the head coach for the Chicago Bears, the first order of business was the same as it always is. He had to find coordinators to run his offense, defense, and special teams. People were surprised when he chose Luke Getsy for the offensive job. They thought he might opt for somebody with previous experience. Getsy had only coordinated for one season in his career, and that was in college. However, Eberflus liked his intelligence, his reputation as a teacher, and his knowledge of the wide-zone running scheme that was finding so much success in the NFL.
From a personal standpoint, I didn’t mind the choice. It at least made sense. Where Eberflus raised a small red flag was when he made Alan Williams the defensive coordinator. That in itself wasn’t bad. The two had worked together in Indianapolis. It made sense to maintain that relationship if the Bears were to establish that Tampa-2 scheme. Then Eberflus dropped a bombshell. Williams would be the one calling plays, not himself. That was the first time I became concerned. The longtime assistant had a reputation even at that point.
It wasn’t a flattering one, either. Williams’ last stint as a coordinator came in 2012 and 2013. After a mediocre first season, the bottom fell out in the second, with the Minnesota Vikings finishing 32nd in points allowed and 31st in yards. Keep in mind that unit had Jared Allen, Brian Robison, Everson Griffen, Chad Greenway, and Harrison Smith. What would it mean for Chicago if Williams couldn’t get even an average performance from that?
Luke Getsy at least got decent results.
He pieced together the #1 rushing attack in the league last season. Cole Kmet had a career year. It wasn’t great, but it was something. Williams couldn’t even provide that. The Bears defense as a whole had 20 sacks for the season, one of the worst performances in franchise history. They finished 32nd in points allowed and 29th in yards. Many blamed the lack of talent for those woes. GM Ryan Poles worked to find help. He added Pro Bowl linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and productive pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue. Quality role players like Andrew Billings and T.J. Edwards also joined the roster.
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What people got in the opener against Green Bay was nothing new. The Packers dissected Williams’ defense for 31 points. Jordan Love was only pressured six times. Worst of all was the coordinator’s stubborn refusal to blitz. Chicago brought an extra rusher only five times all game, even when it was apparent their front four couldn’t get to the quarterback. That kind of negligence is inexcusable, regardless of what the scheme was meant for.
Everything to this point says Williams is a liability. He’s not getting the most out of his players. His defense has now allowed 28 or more points in nine of the past 11 games. Luke Getsy deserves criticism, too, but the Bears have a far bigger problem to address on the defensive side.
