The Chicago Bears have been the team that most experts throughout the NFL believe the team has won the offseason.
There is very little not to like about the moves that the Bears have made this offseason as the team added offensive playmakers D'Andre Swift, Keenan Allen, and Gerald Everett to go with an offense that already included DJ Moore and Cole Kmet. Of course, most notably, the Bears believe they have improved at the quarterback position with the selection of Caleb Williams with the first overall pick and adding wide receiver Rome Odunze with the ninth overall selection.
The only move the Bears made this offseason that has drawn criticism was the decision to bring back head coach Matt Eberflus for a third season. Whether the idea was to pair Williams with an offensive-minded head coach or the fact that Eberflus drew questions about his ability to win games after the Bears blew three fourth-quarter leaders where they had a two-possession lead this past season, the idea was the team needed more out of their head coach.
Instead of picking from a litter of available veteran head coaches with hardware to their name, the Bears backed Eberflus. It was a decision that was questioned but not by Thursday Night Football's analyst, Kirk Herbstreit.
Herbstreit defended the move while joining the Pat McAfee show on Wednesday.
""Every time I kept thinking 'Are they gonna fire [Matt] Eberflus? Are they gonna fire him like every other franchise does?'" Herbstreit said. "And I got on a Zoom with him to get ready to call a game, and he just had authentic energy that I think his players really rallied around and believed in.Kirk Herbstreit, The Pat McAfee Show
"And I thought initially it was maybe just kinda show, but as it went on, I saw how the team responded to him and I thought 'Man, this team I think really likes this guy.' And they're really responding to him.""
Matt Eberflus needs to justify the Chicago Bears' decision.
Given the questionable atmosphere that Eberflus created with his press conferences throughout his first two seasons as the Bears' head coach, many have discarded him as unfit for the job. Add in the fact that the Bears had two assistant coaches dismissed last season for HR-related incidents, and Eberflus' management of the entire football operation was highly scrutinized.
Eberflus will need to remove those reasons for concern in 2024. With the talent that has been provided, 2024 will be a make-or-break season for the Bears' head coach.