The Bears’ sudden, shocking change of fortune has had all the subtlety of a jetliner toilet flush.
Three weeks ago, we were singing Caleb Williams’ praises. He had played well in consecutive games, albeit against weak competition, but there was reason to believe he could sustain it. The defense was playing well. The Bears were 4-2, and hope was their steadfast companion.
Now? Now the rookie quarterback looks like he couldn’t hit an open receiver from five yards away. Now the Bears have lost two straight in miserable fashion, first because of an unforgivable decision by cornerback Tyrique Stevenson against Washington and then because of an atrocious offensive performance against Arizona. Hope has not been returning calls or texts.
How the hell did the Bears get here? A better question: What strange cosmic event occurred that catapulted us back to 2023? The same issues that haunted the Bears last year have returned. A struggling quarterback. An offensive coordinator who doesn’t seem to know how to get the best out of his QB. A befuddled head coach.
Unlike last season, when head coach Matt Eberflus was able to right the ship and keep his job, this season already seems irreversible. If we stick to the maritime imagery, there are at least seven cannons ready to put holes in the hull. After the Bears take on the 2-7 Patriots at Soldier Field on Sunday, the rest of the schedule looks as severe as a drill sergeant’s glare: Home against the Packers and Vikings; on the road against the Lions, 49ers and Vikings; home against the Lions and Seahawks; and, finally, on the road against the Packers. The Bears might – might – be favored against Seattle.
Bears chairman George McCaskey likely will look upon the public loss of faith in his team as proof of fan capriciousness. And if I know George, he’s already looking at last season’s turnaround as a roadmap for a similar turnaround this season. A wiser approach would be to look at why Eberflus finds himself in this situation again and, if McCaskey truly wants answers, to ask himself why he and his minions continue to choose head coaches cut from the same beige, ineffective cloth.
You might recall Eberflus’ offseason makeover. A new, closely trimmed beard. A blow-dried mane. But there aren’t scissors or a brush that can change who you are. The same head coach who couldn’t make Justin Fields better returned with the same I-haven’t-the-foggiest look on his face when it came to getting the most out of Williams.
Eberflus shouldn’t feel too bad. He’s the latest in a long line of McCaskey hires who carried the same bewildered look: Matt Nagy, John Fox, Marc Trestman, etc.
This is what happens when an owner decides he doesn’t want to have to deal with anyone like the rowdy Mike Ditka again. It’s why the Bears won’t hire someone like loud, successful Lions coach Dan Campbell. It’s why the weird, passionate and also successful Jim Harbaugh needn’t apply for the next Bears opening.
I’d respect Eberflus a lot more if he didn’t spend three-quarters of his press conferences defending indefensible decisions. Somewhere along the way, coaches decided that publicly admitting mistakes or criticizing players could only lead to bad things. They could lose the locker room. They could lose their jobs. I’d argue that they could win points with players and fans by being even remotely honest, but that’s just a hunch that will never be tested. Too risky.
There’s no doubt the speak-no-evil approach backfired on Nagy. It didn’t work for Trestman. It only worked for Lovie Smith because he had Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and a talented defense.
We’ve had to listen to Eberflus avoid questions about what punishment Stevenson would face for arriving late to the game-deciding play in Washington because he had been taunting Commanders fans. And we had to listen to Eberflus speak a lot of words but say nothing about the Bears’ horrible performance against the Cardinals on Sunday.
Coaches are creatures of habits, so Eberflus likely is looking back on how the Bears won five of their final eight games last year. He had taken all sorts of abuse during a 2-7 start, but stayed the course.
This is different.
The only person who can turn around the Bears’ season is Williams. He’s talented enough to give the Bears a shot in a few games. Unfortunately, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron seems to be the new Luke Getsy, who was the new Dowell Loggains, who … well, you know. Since 2000, the Bears have had only two offensive coordinators last more than two seasons: Ron Turner (2005-09) and John Shoop (2001-03).
This brings us back to the Bears’ poor hiring practices, the McCaskeys and a pervasive sense of doom. General manager Ryan Poles sopped up all the florid ink that was devoted to his early successes, but now he’s feeling the heat for a season that seems to be slipping away.
Was he wrong about Williams, whom he made the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft? I don’t think so. But what if Poles is no different than Ryan Pace, the man before him, or Phil Emery, Pace’s predecessor?
You get on this slippery slope, and it always leads you back to the McCaskeys. It’s not a good place to be.