The Bears don’t need to spend another day trying to figure out whether Matt Eberflus is the right coach for them. If it wasn’t already clear, that question was answered conclusively Sunday.
Desperate for a win and hosting the NFL’s worst team, with a first-time head coach and rookie quarterback, too, the Bears lost 19-3 to the Patriots at Soldier Field as fans streamed out well before it was done. They’re inexplicably getting worse as the season goes, and Eberflus has no excuse for this happening on his watch.
The Bears would be beyond justified in breaking their longstanding unwritten policy of not firing a coach during the season. They will only spiral deeper into oblivion under Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.
The only time Eberflus has ever given the illusion that this team is on the right track was early this season in a three-game winning streak against some of the NFL’s worst teams, and now, having wasted the easier half of the schedule by starting 4-5, the Bears face a treacherous path ahead.
If they got booed off the field against the pitiful Patriots, what happens when the Packers come to town next?
It’s time for general manager Ryan Poles to let go of loyalty and optimism and accept that he got it wrong with Eberflus and Waldron. That’s really two wrong calls on Eberflus, who wasn’t the most qualified candidate available in 2022 and had stacked up plenty of negatives by the end of last season. This isn’t the guy.
The locker room has been trying to tell the world for most of this season. Various veterans and captains have raised issues that point to coaching. If for no other reason than that, it’s worth making a change now rather than waiting until the end of the season.
But another cause to do it now is to salvage what is left of this season. This roster should be better than 4-5, and a coaching change might push it closer to its potential. In the long run, it gives the Bears an early start on their search with backchannel conversations.
The most alarming issue — and there are plenty from which to choose — is the stagnancy of prized rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. It appears almost anyone but Eberflus and Waldron would be better suited to develop him, and given his high potential, there will be a line out of the door of candidates who want to try.
In three seasons, Eberflus has rarely done anything but move toward the exit. Every low point is followed by a previously unimaginable lower point. Every last straw somehow turned out not to be the last straw, only for everyone to wish it had been.
At 14-29, he has the third-worst record ever by a Bears coach, and that’s a sufficient sample size. Over his first two seasons, he went 2-16 against teams that went on to finish above .500, and he is 0-3 this season against teams that went into Sunday with a winning record. He’s winless against the Packers, who will come to Soldier Field on Sunday fresh off a bye.
There have been late-game meltdowns, perplexing and costly in-game decisions and so many times when his team has looked unprepared. The Bears went scoreless in the first quarter Sunday for eighth time in 10 games, and now have scored X total in their last three games. It’s not getting better.
And that’s just on the field. Don’t forget Eberflus’ poor hiring choices, whether Waldron and Luke Getsy because of poor performance or Alan Williams and David Walker because of poor conduct.
Furthermore, every time he tries to explain the snafu du jour, he only exacerbates the problem by talking around it, trying to cast it in a more favorable light and failing to convey control of the situation.
That’s untenable for the Bears, and they’ve seen enough to know that.