Matt Eberflus has only been an NFL head coach for a season and a half. Considering the roster he inherited, it is easy to say that the Chicago Bears should give him more time to work things out. At the same time, there are so many signs that this is not going to work out, and this should be the last season that Eberflus is the Bears head coach.
3. Matt Eberflus put together a questionable coaching staff for the Chicago Bears
The recent news that the Chicago Bears had to fire running backs coach David Walker is concerning. Walker was relieved of his duties for inappropriate workplace behavior. Reports are that he was reported to Human Resources once before, and then a second incident led to his firing.
As an isolated event, this can look back on Eberflus since he is the head coach and the leader of these men. Still, when you add that Alan Williams decided to let go of a story that came out in a similar manner, you have to start to wonder what is going on at Halas Hall. Is there an issue with the culture going on right now? Walker had multiple incidents, and it sounds like the Williams issue was not just something that sprung up out of the blue, either.
This can be traced back to the idea that Eberflus and his staff would pass on players like George Pickens and punish players for loaves with fines, but then they traded for Chase Claypool, with similar character concerns, and let him play the week after he had a highlight tape full of loaves. Matt Eberflus is not running a tight ship, and people beneath him feel they can get away with things. This is shown across the building.
2. The Chicago Bears are playing sloppy football
The Bears are not buttoned up organizationally, and they are embarrassing themselves nationally. They are also playing an ugly brand of football. The Bears currently have 52 penalties, which ranks 8th worst in the NFL. Last year, they ranked 30th with 80. For perspective, they have gone from 4.7 penalties per game in 2022 to 6.5 penalties per game in 2023. That is nearly two more penalties per game. You are either coaching it or letting it happen.
The Bears have also been poor when it comes to missed tackles. This year, they are averaging 9.8 missed tackles per game, which is up from 8.5 last season. They are missing 1.3 more tackles per week. One of the things that fans and reporters pointed to last year was the effort, the tackling, and the discipline as reasons that Eberflus was having success despite the wins.
The thought was that the talent was the issue, and Eberflus was getting the most out of these players because they were playing sound football. Now, it appears that the message is not getting across or that the players are just not buying it to the same degree. Losing the team buy-in this early is not good and does not show that he has a good shot at weathering the storm.
1. The Chicago Bears defense that Matt Eberflus put together is not good enough
One of the most confusing things Matt Eberflus and the Chicago Bears did was sign Tremaine Edmunds. Eberflus was a linebackers coach coming up, and he had been known to churn out some talented linebackers who did not have high-end investments in them. When the Bears traded Roquan Smith, UDFA Jack Sanborn looked good enough to start, and the thought was that if Eberflus got the most out of the linebackers, they would spend little there, and then they would have more assets for the rest of the roster.
Instead, they added Tremaine Edmunds because he had to be a perfect fit for the Eberflus defense. So far, he has been awful, and the team wishes they would have just started the UDFA on the rookie salary deal. Eberflus is not getting the most out of his talent on that side of the ball. He inherited the best player in Jaylon Johnson. Kyler Gordon, Jaquan Brisker, and Gervon Dexter all have shown slight moments, but all of them are huge questions that have not yet developed under Eberflus.
Last year, the Chicago Bears allowed a score on 41.8% of their opponent's drives. They turned the ball over on 11.9% of their opponent's drives. This year, they are giving up a score on 43.4% of their opponent's drives, and they are turning the ball over on 10.8% of their opponent's drives. They added Edmunds, Dexter, Yannick Ngakoue, DeMarcus Walker, and TJ Edwards, and they are currently in a worse spot. Yes, the secondary has been banged up, but this includes the depleted Bear's defense towards the end of last year as well. The team got worse when the talent got better. This falls on Matt Eberflus.