The frustration in the Chicago Bears locker room is as bad, if not worse, than it is throughout the fan base.
Chicago (4-7) entered the season with big expectations and playoff hopes, which have been all but dashed over a five-game losing streak that includes three heartbreaking defeats in the final seconds of those respective contests. A common cliché is that football is a game of inches, and in a league with so much parity, the difference between a win and a loss is often one or two plays or, in the case of the Bears, one or two decisions made on the sideline.
It is fair to criticize head coach Matt Eberflus for his role in Chicago’s late-game failures this season, which star cornerback Jaylon Johnson did — albeit in thinly-veiled fashion — when speaking on the Monday, November 25 edition of the “Spiegel & Holmes Show.”
“I feel like the team that we have right now, we’re built to win right now. I don’t think it’s something where it’s, ‘Okay, we got to come in and get the right guys in the building.’ For the most part, as far as the locker room goes, we have the right guys,” Johnson said. “We have enough to be able to win right now and to be a playoff team again. We just haven’t put it all together, top to bottom, as far as being able to execute, be put in the right positions, just really all of it.”
Jaylon Johnson’s Commentary Bad Omen for Future of Matt Eberflus With Bears
GettyChicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson.
Johnson didn’t throw his coach under the bus, or even mention him by name. But the critique of the Bears not being “in the right positions” is clearly Johnson holding the coaching staff accountable.
Eberflus has done a good job of holding others accountable, firing offensive coordinator Luke Getsy in January before axing his replacement, Shane Waldron, roughly halfway through his first season with the franchise.
But it may be Eberflus who Chicago’s front office decides to hold to account if he can’t turn the team’s fortunes around before the end of the season.
Bears Could Have New Head Coach as Early as 1 Day After Thanksgiving
GettyChicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus.
Chicago travels to Detroit on Thanksgiving Day to take on the Lions, arguably the best team in the NFL. Should the Bears lose that contest, they will have dropped six games in a row, including three consecutive outings within the NFC North Division.
A defeat would also sink Chicago’s record to 4-8 on the season and all but eliminate them from postseason contention. At that hypothetical point, it becomes fair to wonder whether the Bears might consider moving on from Eberflus before the season is out.
Former passing game coordinator Thomas Brown elevated into the role of interim offensive coordinator three games ago, after Eberflus sent Waldron packing. He is the likeliest replacement for Eberflus as interim head coach should Chicago decide to go that route.
The argument for making that move is to test Brown’s readiness for the job. If he succeeds, the Bears may be able to hit the ground running this offseason. If he doesn’t, the team can search for a long-term solution from what would likely be a sprawling list of potential candidates.
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