We are entering Marc Trestman territory. Matt Eberflus was never close to being a top coaching prospect for me, but I tried to buy in. I tried to buy into the H.I.T.S. principle thinking that his hard-nosed coaching style could help after watching Matt Nagy try to be buddy-buddy with everyone instead. I don't know what the coaching answer is, but watching this roller coaster play out over and over again is frustrating as a Chicago Bears fan. We haven't seen a truly good head coach since Lovie Smith and even then the offense couldn't do enough consistently. Why? Defensive-minded coach.
That's just one of the overall problems though. The franchise as a whole was supposed to be turning a corner and I'm not ready to say that can't or won't still happen. I loved the Kevin Warren hiring to replace Ted Phillips. I loved the Ryan Poles signing as the new general manager to replace Ryan Pace. I absolutely despised the Matt Eberflus signing and I can't help but think that even though we were told otherwise, Eberflus was somewhat forced upon Poles.
Who is to blame for the Justin Fields issues?
Let's back up for a bit though. Let's go back to the 2021 NFL Draft when Justin Fields fell into the Chicago Bears' lap. All it took was moving up to 11 and sending some high-priced draft capital to the Giants. That feeling when he became available was one I'd never felt on draft day before. I was like a kid on Christmas morning — full of hope and excitement. Now, after watching him the last two games, those gifts I opened two years ago don't seem as glamorous.