Chicago Bears Week 9 Loser No. 3: Matt Eberflus
It is really unfortunate that the things that keep the Chicago Bears from being a better football team are mainly being caused by themselves. Say what you want about the lack of talent at some key positions, but there is enough that the excuses they want to use just will not cut it.
The Bears are too good of a football team with too much talent and potential to be consistently playing so poorly. They lack execution and discipline, and a good part of that blame comes back to Matt Eberflus. This is especially the case because he was brought in for his plan to get the Bears to play energetic, smart, and technically sound football. His H.I.T.S. principles sound nice on paper, but a year and a half into his tenure we have yet to see it consistently be shown on the field.
The backbone of a team that is trying to make that jump from rebuilding to being a competitive team is good coaching. While Eberflus has not caused any problems with culture or players not wanting to play for him, he just has not been able to get the job done. He is now 5-21 as a head coach in the NFL and his team is arguably worse this year than it was last year. There just are not enough excuses for this level of failure on his part, even if it is not entirely his fault.
The Chicago Bears did about as much as they could this past offseason to address some of the biggest needs. Sure, there are conversations about some of Ryan Poles' offseason moves potentially being misses, but for the most part, the players that were brought in improved the Bears, at least on paper. Eberflus has failed to put a winning product onto the field with what he has to work with, and the same problems keep hurting his cause.
The lack of discipline on both sides of the ball over this season has been evident, and a handful of penalties against the Saints highlighted that issue. Combine that with the poor tackling we have seen way too many times and the situational decision-making being questionable, nothing is really making his case right now.
Eberflus preaches discipline and fundamental football, and this is what the product is. Unfortunately, that is not going to cut it. Over halfway through the season, most fans and most likely some players have given up on what was supposed to be a very important bridge year for this franchise. For Matt Eberflus, things got worse for him after Week 9 against the Saints.