Under normal conditions, nobody would be outright panicking about the Chicago Bears‘ 0-3 start. Sure, it’s disappointing, but the schedule was tough, and this is still a rebuilding team. These are not normal conditions. Chicago lost all three games in blowout fashion. Justin Fields looks completely broken as a player. Matt Eberflus’ defense is still the worst in the NFL. That alone is bad. Yet it’s the ongoing controversies that make it worse. Fields called out the coaching staff for making him too “robotic.” Defensive coordinator Alan Williams mysteriously resigned.
All of this takes place amidst the longest losing streak in franchise history, now standing at 13 games. The last six of those losses have been by double digits. This is a bad football team that somehow looks worse than last season despite significant talent investments in the spring and summer. There is no way it should look this bad. When such is the case, it signals a possible organizational issue. Eberflus is already on the hot seat. Some feel Ryan Poles should be, too. The question is whether team president Kevin Warren has the power and the willingness to do so. According to Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post, the answer to both questions is yes.
Confirmation came via another NFL general manager.
A reckoning is coming for the brass of the Chicago Bears.
Not for the owners of the hapless NFL franchise, mind you, as there are virtually no consequences for football oligarchs, regardless of how feckless their leadership may be. But those tapped by the McCaskey family to oversee their roster and manage their football product already are imperiled in the eyes of many of their colleagues around the league — for good reason — and there is a growing suspicion that team president Kevin Warren has seen enough to realize another reboot is in order…
…“I think Kevin has seen enough to clean it out,” said one NFL GM, who is not authorized to speak publicly about other teams’ management decisions and structures, on the condition of anonymity. “It’s my understanding that he has the power to do it, and the coach and GM can’t go around him to ownership. Maybe he feels a little pressure to keep Poles, but he sees how [messed] up it is there, and the more attention all of this gets, the easier it is for him to do what he has to do.”
The Chicago Bears are trapped in another 2014.
Everybody remembers how disheartening that season was, mired in controversies, historically bad defense, and inept coaching. Marc Trestman and Phil Emery both got fired once it ended. Eberflus and Poles have made plenty of questionable decisions since taking over. Poles was the one who hired Eberflus. He also misfired on several notable additions like Larry Ogunjobi, Chase Claypool, and Nate Davis. As for Eberflus, his team’s lack of discipline and overall effectiveness is abundantly clear each week. His staff hires already look like disasters. Williams is gone, and he wasn’t much good when he was here. Luke Getsy is being widely panned by analysts almost everywhere.
The common expectation for a rebuilding team is they’re terrible the first year and begin making incremental progress in each following season. It looks like the Chicago Bears have somehow regressed from their bottoming out in 2022. One must not forget Warren arrived after Poles and Eberflus were hired. He had zero say in their additions, so there is no loyalty involved. If what the GM said is true and he has full authority to make changes, then the odds of them happening go up significantly.
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