Matt Eberflus is fighting for his job. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be a discussion. After going 3-14 in his first year, the Chicago Bears head coach has gone 6-9 this year, including 6-5 in the last 11 games. His defense has morphed into one of the NFL’s most formidable. However, these aren’t normal circumstances. Eberflus has developed a reputation for late-game chokes this year. His team has watched double-digit leads in the 4th quarter disappear three times. Two other times, the Bears almost lost after leading the 4th quarter against Minnesota and Arizona. His game management is questionable and conservative.
Plenty of people don’t see him as a true solution for the head coaching position. Yet the steady improvement of the team is also hard to ignore. This is why the organization is in a difficult spot. Firing a head coach after two years seems ill-advised for a team seeking stability. Still, the red flags are hard to ignore. Some think Eberflus has done enough to get one more year. Adam Hoge of CHGO doesn’t think it’s reached that point yet, especially if the Bears head coach can’t reach a specific accomplishment over the final two games.
Matt Eberflus has a green and gold ghost haunting him.
Never underestimate the value of the Green Bay Packers rivalry in evaluating a head coach. Eberflus has faced them three times so far and lost all three. Not only that, but those three games weren’t close. The Bears lost 27-10 in the first meeting, 28-19 in the second, and 38-17 in the third. It’s one thing to lose to the Packers, but not even making the games competitive is another. Chicago hasn’t beaten them since 2018. Everybody knows that is not something the McCaskey family likes. Beating Green Bay matters to them.
If the last glimpse of 2023 is another loss to the Packers, that isn’t going to do Matt Eberflus any favors. It would be made even worse if the Bears also lose to Atlanta on Sunday. Make no mistake, Eberflus is not safe. Far from it. There are still serious questions about his game management. Not to mention the new team president had no say in his hiring. Flopping at the finish line against your biggest rival could be a killing blow. Hoge is 100% correct. Eberflus needs that game.
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It doesn’t matter from here on out what the TEAM does! Yes the TEAM. The Chicago Bears the defense has been balling which we couldn’t say that for weeks! Yet enter Montez Sweat and boom! That’s the key yes THE key! They got a premier pass rusher and the better of the 2 yes better than Young. So for me, personally, that alone is the only reason I would consider keeping Elberflus period. The team has been playing consistently better and it’s not even close on the defensive side. Now the offensive side is a different story. It plain sucks!… Read more »
I understand Eberflus has caused most of his own problems. However, why do all these type articles say “but his higher ups didn’t hire him”? Does that truly make a difference? In my opinion, the man can either do his job or he can’t, doesn’t matter who hired him.