The Chicago Bears are Stuck in 1985

In a hectic week for the NFL, there have been eight different teams that have made a coaching change, including coaching legends Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll agreeing to amicably part ways with the Patriots and Seahawks, respectively. Despite many highly coveted coaches being or becoming available during this year’s coaching carousel, the Chicago Bears held midweek meetings and decided that Matt Eberflus is still the right guy for the job, choosing to instead fire offensive coordinator Luke Getsy along with other positional coaches on offense. 

This decision to not clean house entirely was not taken well by fans, as it indicates that the ownership and team president Kevin Warren are content with mediocrity. Eberflus meets the definition of mediocrity as he blew three leads in the 4th quarter this season, struggled to make necessary defensive adjustments when playing teams with a record above .500, and made questionable hires for his coordinators and position coaches. Since the team showed improvement in the second half of the season, the front office liked enough of what they saw which proves to the fanbase they do not know what is best for their own franchise. 

The Bears are in a pivotal moment where making the wrong move could haunt the franchise for decades. They have the number one pick again due to last year’s trade with Carolina, and are now facing the tough dilemma of sticking with Justin Fields and trading the pick for another large haul, or staying at the number one pick and drafting Caleb Williams. I personally think that while Fields has shown exciting flashes of potential, he does not make the necessary reads of the defense which limits his passing ability, and also holds the ball too long which leads to tons of unnecessary sacks and turnovers. He did not make enough of a jump in year three that was expected of him, as it is statistically proven that most quarterbacks who become stars make that jump by year three or not at all. His season to me left more questions than answers, and I think drafting Caleb Williams would be the better move for the franchise, as his unknown potential as a prospect gives you a higher ceiling on offense than sticking with Fields under center.

Keeping Eberflus has really jeopardized the idea of drafting Caleb Williams and I think it has already put a dent in their future, as well as GM Ryan Poles and President Kevin Warren’s reputation of having back bone. By keeping Eberflus and just looking for an offensive coordinator, they are seriously limiting their ceiling. If they decide to draft Caleb Williams, they will be drafting a rookie QB with a coach on the hot seat for a THIRD time in a row. This plan has rarely ever worked in history, and is essentially setting up your quarterback for failure. By keeping Eberflus, you have to keep Justin Fields to have some continuity and not completely ruin yet another prospect, and because Fields has a lower ceiling as a passer the McCaskeys are admitting to the fans that they prefer complacency as a franchise instead of swinging for the fences. 

It is unbelievably frustrating as a lifelong fan to see the Bears never learn from making the same mistakes over and over. I beg to know why the McCaskeys do not just sell the team if they do not truly understand what it takes to run a winning franchise, along with the fact that under their ownership we have never been able to develop an elite QB. The McCaskeys have been stuck trying to relive the glory days of 1985 for decades now and they do not truly understand what it takes to win in the current landscape of the NFL. They constantly hire defensive minded coaches, spend big money on linebackers, hire an offensive coordinator with a run first mindset and settle for below average play at the quarterback position and offensive line. It really makes me wonder how much more of this malpractice I can take as a fan, as having only seen one winning season in the past decade is beyond disheartening. The Bears need to wake up and stop packaging the product of the past and finally move on to the present. 

What are your thoughts on the Bears retaining Matt Eberflus as head coach? Let me know in the comments.