Just last week, a report suggested that the Chicago Bears had their minds made up on head coach Matt Eberflus.
The report came from NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, which stated the Bears were expected to keep Eberflus on as head coach for 2024. Eberflus' defense, first and foremost, has improved drastically this year. That's a big reason why Chicago could choose to keep him on. Not to mention, the team has won four of five games going into Week 18.
Friday, though, Bears president Kevin Warren spoke to the media and when he was asked about the future of Eberflus, he kept it fairly non-committal.
"As we've said all along, we just continually will stay focused on finishing the season strong, take a big-picture, methodical look at everything. I'm looking forward to heading to Green Bay tomorrow. Hopefully the team can keep playing well," Warren said.
Could the Chicago Bears actually fire Matt Eberflus after Week 18?
I understand the desire to not divulge any information on the Eberflus topic until a decision is formally announced, but the fact that Warren did not give any faith to the report from Rapoport last week is a little curious.
I would assume that the Bears have, indeed, committed to Eberflus for the 2024 campaign regardless of what Warren portrayed to the media on Friday, though. Chicago has improved enough over the latter half of the season and from those who have been inside the locker room, I've heard the players love playing for him.
It would be the wrong move to let go of Eberflus at this point. Rather, the Bears need to go out and find themselves an offensive staff. The real culprit behind the Bears' struggles has been offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. That's the guy who needs to go.
As for Eberflus, it is refreshing to see players get behind their coach and play hard for him. Take the level of competition in the wins with a grain of salt, but wins are wins and there seems to be a positive energy behind Eberflus and his locker room right now.