The sky isn't falling yet, but the weather does not look great for the Chicago Bears. The team has now fallen to 4-4 and the 2024 season is not looking too promising. This year was always about the development of Caleb Williams. His development in his rookie season is more important than wins/losses. That said, we were all hopeful that his development would take off and the wins would start compiling.
I still like what we have seen from Caleb Williams to a certain degree. His operation in the huddle, at the line of scrimmage, his decision-making, and even how he addresses the media at the podium is something we haven't seen from the last two first-round quarterbacks selected by the Bears. He throws with anticipation and constantly makes the correct reads.
I am concerned, though, that his development could regress drastically as the team continues to run out an offensive line that cannot block and uses a game plan that isn't consistently working. Something has to change and unfortunately, we have been here as Chicago Bears fans before.
Ryan Poles was brought in from Kansas City to help turn this team around. He tore everything down in his first year and started building things back up in his second year. He inherited Justin Fields from the previous regime, and once again, the general manager and head coach were not aligned with a quarterback of their choosing. More on that later.
Supporting Poles has been easy despite a few hiccups along the way. However, there are three big flaws in his plan.
Three big mistakes that he has made along the way that honestly could cost him his job in the end. The Chicago Bears cannot afford to keep failing, and although we are not at the point of no return for Poles, we are getting close. Can he rectify his mistakes in 2025? Let's look at what those mistakes are first and then you be the judge.
Hiring Matt Eberflus was Ryan Poles' first mistake
The first mistake that Ryan Poles made in his tenure as the general manager of the Chicago Bears was hiring Matt Eberflus to be the new head coach. When going through the potential candidates, I had Eberflus ranked seventh. Seventh does not sound too bad until you realize I only ranked 10 candidates.
Brian Daboll was the coach I wanted most who was not named Jim Harbaugh. The thing is, there were a few other options but the Bears didn't even interview them. Mike McDaniel and Kevin O'Connell are two of them. I would have been happy with either of them over Eberflus too. Brian Flores, the defensive coordinator of the Vikings and former Dolphins head coach would have also been above Eberflus in my rankings.
A few guys I was not high on but who might be proving me wrong are Dan Quinn and Todd Bowles. I also thought Byron Leftwich would be a solid option for Justin Fields but Leftwich hasn't amounted to much since moving on from the Bucs in 2022.
Honestly, I'm not sure if any of these coaches could have done a worse job than Matt Eberflus. Eberflus' record as head coach is currently 14-28. He deserves a little bit of a break as Poles tore the team down to the studs in year one.
However, looking at how Eberflus ranks among the other head coaches of the Chicago Bears, he has a worse winning percentage than Marc Trestman (2013-2014) who only lasted two seasons. By year's end, he could have a worse winning percentage than John Fox, who only lasted three seasons (2015-2017). In fact, outside of Fox, only one other coach has a worse winning percentage than Matt Eberflus. That coach was Abe Gilbron (1972-1974) and he, too, only lasted two seasons. I'm not sure how Eberflus lasts beyond this season. Ryan Poles made two other possible career-ending mistakes.
Keeping Matt Eberflus was Ryan Poles' second mistake
This brings us to Matt Eberflus still being the head coach in 2024. Ryan Poles had the opportunity to show Eberflus the door at the end of the 2023 season. I know that many fans wanted this to happen because they wanted to see the head coach and a new quarterback (Caleb Williams) aligned. That never seems to happen here in Chicago and we all wanted a change. Just like the Chicago Bears never fire a coach before the end of the season. I doubt they start now with Eberflus.
Rumors are that Ben Johnson, the Lions' offensive coordinator, was interested in taking on the Bears job if Eberflus was fired. He wasn't given the opportunity since Eberflus was retained. It would have been interesting to see Johnson as the head coach seeing he is once again the hot name being floated around for head coaching jobs in 2025.
Hiring Matt Eberflus was flawed and never would have been the true demise of Ryan Poles' career here in Chicago. However, retaining him after two awful years of football might be worse. Poles should have given Eberflus the same treatment he gave Justin Fields. He should have told him he appreciates what he has done for the team during his time here, but the team is looking to go in a different direction as they prepare to draft Williams with the first-overall pick. Now, Poles might be shown the door in the near future.
Poles' biggest mistake though was not focusing on the offensive line
Coaching has been an issue, but the lack of focus on the offensive line is by far my biggest issue with what Ryan Poles has done to this point. Drafting Darnell Wright was a solid step in the correct direction, however, they needed to do more. Leaning on Braxton Jones at left tackle was fine as long as you addressed the interior of the line.
Whether it was poor pro scouting or a push from Matt Eberflus who talked highly of Nate Davis while playing against him when he was the defensive coordinator of the Colts, the Davis acquisition has been awful. Absolutely awful.
If Poles is going to save himself, he needs to find better talent to put across the offensive line. Teven Jenkins wanted a contract extension, but he has not been able to stay healthy. He cannot be counted on. The revolving door at center also needs to stop and I'm sorry, Ryan Bates isn't going to magically fix things once he returns to the active roster. This group needs an overhaul outside of Wright and I'm worried Poles isn't the right guy for the job.
I doubt Poles is fired at the end of the season, but I have to wonder if his seat starts to warm up after this season knowing that the NFC North is going to be dominant and the Chicago Bears do not look like they have what it takes to push for the playoffs anymore. Will Eberflus be fired though? I'm tired of seeing the rookie QBs have to deal with a changing of the guard after Year 1.