While the Matt Nagy–Ryan Pace regime showed early issues, the Bears did not produce a losing season until the fourth and final year of that partnership. Although circumstances are a bit different for Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles, the team is in a worse spot than it was during the previous duo’s run.
The Bears have now lost 13 straight games, and their defense has cratered under Eberflus, a defensive-oriented head coach. Alan Williams, the defensive coordinator who followed Eberflus from Indianapolis, lasted only 18 games with the team. Inappropriate conduct on Williams’ part is believed to have occurred, and the Bears’ defense has taken significant steps back since Eberflus arrived. While the Bears have gutted the nucleus that helped Mitch Trubisky pilot the team to two playoff berths, it finished last in points allowed in 2022 and ranks 31st this season.
Following Williams’ exit and Justin Fields making comments about the coaching staff’s role in his struggles — a point the third-year QB attempted to walk back — Poles addressed the state of the team. The Bears are early in the Poles-run rebuild, but a new president — ex-Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren — is in place. A growing suspicion exists in league circles Warren is already considering rebooting the operation, Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post notes.
Fields ranks last in QBR, sitting nearly six points behind Zach Wilson, through three games. The Poles regime did not draft Fields, who threatened to break Lamar Jackson‘s single-season QB rushing record last season, but has a clear stake in his future. The Bears traded away the No. 1 overall pick, showing a belief in Fields over an investment in the likes of Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud. Chicago should be well-positioned for the 2024 draft, holding their own pick and Carolina’s. Another QB investment may be necessary, but it will be worth wondering if this regime will be in place to make the picks by then.
One GM told La Canfora that Warren has seen enough to know change needs to take place. The Bears do not fire coaches in-season, and it would represent a quick trigger to dump Poles so early in his rebuild effort. But two-and-done coaches are standard practice in the NFL. Quick GM hooks are less common, though these moves have taken place in the recent past. The Jets dropped John Idzik after his second season, while the Texans canned Brian Gaine midway through his second offseason.
Warren arrived in January, succeeding longtime team president Ted Phillips. The latter was in his final months on the job when Poles and Eberflus were hired, and La Canfora notes Bill Polian played a lead role in the hires. The Bears have kept their organizational workflow in place from the Phillips era, with Warren stationed as the buffer between ownership and the football ops department. Warren would have the power to fire the second-year GM-HC duo and lead the next search. Not directly in charge of the Bears’ football ops, Warren is believed to have a role on that side.
The Bears have not had a two-and-done HC since Marc Trestman, who was fired after the 2014 season. Trestman also stands as the Bears’ only two-and-done period since the 1970 merger. Trestman went 13-19. Poles should be considered on safer ground, but Eberflus — now in place as the Bears’ defensive play-caller — should certainly be viewed as a hot-seat occupant given recent developments.
Enough hiring average coordinators as HCs, make Jim Harbaugh an offer he can’t refuse and get him on board for 2024. Chicago deserves the best.
Just because they took the picks instead of drafting number 1 doesn’t automatically mean they believe in Fields. All 4 of the potential #1 QBs were supposed to be good, but had question marks. It’s entirely possible they wanted to move on, but didn’t feel like Young or Stroud would be a significant improvement.
Everyone that truly knows football, knew that Fields had about a 10 – 15% chance of turning it around this year. He was one of the worst starting qb’s in the N F L in his two year career, after the end of the 2022 season. There was however, a few G M ‘s, desperate enough to gamble on Fields “athletic potential”. He had the value of a mid – late first rounder, and probably a 4th, to go along. I said before the draft, if the Bears didn’t trade Fields, that his value would be next to nothing after this year. I didn’t even think it would come to pass after three games!!
You’re probably right, but the offer that they got from Carolina was quite good. Unless you were suggesting what I am understanding, which is that the Bears should have taken that offer AND traded Fields…in which case, I’d have to say, that could have been very interesting, indeed.
I never thought they were buying that Fields would improve, myself. I always thought that they were going to use this year to gather intel on a rebuild next year and consolidate picks and cap space. Fields got this year as an audition to tell the team whether he was worth further investment or not. If not, he will be a cheap placeholder who won’t jeopardize their draft position.
Trading the first round pick and acquiring DJ Moore was a pretty clear indicator that Poles was giving Fields a real shot in his ‘prove it’ third year. But they have more issues than just Fields to deal with. Eberflus and Getsy were poor choices and it’s clearly showing this season. Poles not seriously investing in the D line in free agency was a mistake. The list goes on.
I thought the same thing when they made the trade with the Panthers. Realistically, they just don’t have the pieces in place to win even a division crown; so they made the decision to take one more look at Fields, all with an eye towards drafting Williams next April. If Fields defied the odds and took off, all the better for them. If not, nothing really lost. They have a lot of draft capital, and could probably still flip Fields for a 3rd or 4th rounder to add to it.
This is 100% correct.
The Staff move they at least need to make sooner rather than later is hire Pat Fitzgerald as DC and maybe even as the next head coach. At least if they do that I know they won’t just sit there like tackling dummies and be pushed around. Not to mention he has a history of taking pathetic losers and turning them into winners.
Great solution. Hire a guy who couldn’t even control a locker room of college aged kids to command adult men. Lol. No.
Nobody should have expected a quick turnaround to playoff contention after the complete teardown of the roster. I was a little surprised that Poles didn’t draft OL and DL in his first draft a little earlier, especially with Cunningham coming from the Roseman tree, but the picks they made aren’t bad though Jones looks like a wasted 3rd round right now. I am willing to give Poles some additional time to orchestrate his plan. I believe the first overall pick trade this year was a solid move that will pay off again next year with another high pick. Better play calling would definitely be helping Fields this year, but they are not tied to him long term. If they can get Williams next year and still have another pick to fortify the lines or give him an elite weapon they will be in good shape, especially with all their cap space available. Flus might end up being a better DC than HC in the long run. Never understood hiring a DC when you needed to find out if you had something in Fields.
Yeah but once again you have the typical Bears draft tree. The best picks the Bears get are from the 4th round on. Pace was exactly the same. Yeah you can’t say poles picks this year are busts yet, But the early returns on Wright, Stevenson, Dexter and Pickens are less than appealing. When I think the Bears could of have Schmitz instead of Stevenson and every snap I watch that pathetic waste of space Patrick take at C I just want to puke. Johnson, Sewell, Scott look like the best picks to me. What Claypool is doing here is a mystery and why Scott isn’t playing is another Getsy folly.
I was screaming for Schmitz also at that juncture. Center was a position of greater need, than was cb.
Eberflus’s hiring- a defense oriented coach with no real experience with offense- was plain dumb. Fields needed (needs) someone with some history of developing a young QB. That was Pole’s worst move.
I don’t know. I don’t think Eberflus was a great hire either but I don’t think that he’s what’s necessarily holding Fields back. People have been saying that Fields needs more since he was drafted, but he hasn’t shown much potential as a passer at all. Even in college, his passing characteristics seemed destined to be a tough translation to NFL style play. Fields would have needed a truly remarkable coach with both a great deal of acumen and experience, plus a great scheme, to have a chance to adapt to the NFL, and there’s no guarantee that he would have. He hasn’t shown anything to say that he could have, at least not yet.
Eberflus isn’t that type of coach, but who is? Andy Reid? Sean Payton looks pretty befuddled right now, but he’s probably the next one up. Outside of that, there aren’t really many active coaches who could be a sure fire pick. Maybe Shanahan or McVay? Those guys definitely weren’t available, with the exception of Payton, who has to reprove himself now in Denver.
Eberflus I think was a “meh” type of hire, but the Bears got rid of all of their defensive talent and did not draft Fields under this regime. I don’t think that they’re looking at this year to do anything other than diagnose their roster. The thing that they may forget is how important it is to establish a culture, and losing-and not really putting up a good effort to win-is not how to do it. Even though this is the first year, it’s important to set that message from the start. Teams think that they can just flip that switch once they get “their guys” in, but it’s not that simple. Fields’ attitude has also definitely shifted publically, which may be partially deserved, but definitely does not bode well for the team environment (of course, him calling himself one of the greatest running quarterbacks of all time wasn’t good, either, but he was thought of as a high character player before).
Was pretty much a given that if you’re going to hire a HC who is Defensive minded, You have to pair him with a Dynamic OC to offset a Coach who knows nothing about offense. I think we can all agree that at no point has Getsy shown to be anywhere near that kind of guy. I thought he figured out that Fields is no pocket passer last year but apparently he keeps trying to make wine out of water. If that’s the kind of offense he’s going to keep calling, He needs to just put Bagent in now as he’s THAT guy. Everybody keeps blaming the O Line( And they’re not blameless) But it’s impossible to block for a guy when you have ZERO idea of where he’s going to be.
Of course, Eberflus hasn’t shown that he knows defense any more than he knows offense. I think the defense has actually gotten worse since Williams left. If that’s even possible.
Sure it is, I think you could be right. It’s only one game, of course, but they had a sort of communication with Williams. Eberflus is going to have his own ideas.
The exodus of talent doesn’t give him much to work with, though. Unfortunately, I don’t think that, even if Eberflus is a good coach, the Bears are going to do much. They’re so committed to “next year” that whatever improvement comes about will be geared towards future competition. The question in reality becomes “how much is the new president aboard with this approach?” If things get even worse, will he lose patience, and hand off all of Poles’ gathered assets to the next regime, ala Dave Caldwell/Trent Baalke in Jacksonville?
Eberflus is lost as last year’s Easter eggs. He is not the guy. If you follow any Chicago media there is a ton of game film and analysis that shows that he and Getsy are dropping the ball. True, they lack superior player talent, but the guys they have are not being coached up enough and those two coaches are failing on a regular basis to make in game adjustments to adapt to what the other teams are showing them.
Yeah, that’s fair. I didn’t mean to condone Eberflus and Getsy’s lack of effectiveness. It just doesn’t seem like there’s much going for Chicago this year. Those picks, however, are valuable, as is the cap space. Do you let Poles build on it, or do you pull the plug early and find someone else? It feels early, to be sure, but outside of Eddie Jackson and the newly acquired D.J. Moore, what is there in this roster that you would want to build around? I don’t know enough to say, in all honesty. I’m sure that there must be some direction to go.
Of course, there is no guarantee that Williams or whomever finishes as the top QB in college will be more talented or effective than Fields. To me, that’s the curious case-if you end up with another prospect who is anything less than spectacular, do you still pull the trigger? Most likely the answer is yes, but I still wonder. After all, this team is more than a quarterback away. This is really just a hypothetical exercise, but it is a scenario that I consider. Is it worth it to take whatever the best QB is in a given year (ala the Panthers) or wait for a player that you truly believe in, if the option doesn’t feel there(not saying that it isn’t this year, just considering)?
I don’t even know how anyone can evaluate Fields at this point. He looks paralyzed during some plays with a deer in the headlights look. Combine that with players out of position all over the place and it’s just a flat out mess. Lotta holes that need to be filled. I liked Pole’s approach last year and the trade for DJ Moore but he failed to bolster the trenches and his coaches are just bad. He probly keeps his job but Eberflus is toast.
Poles isn’t going anywhere. However eberflus is done at seasons end
Poles should be fired for the trades he has made, and the one that he didn’t make that he should have made. Trading Fields before or on draft night, was in the Bears best interest. Poles was correct in trading the #1 pick, this year’s qb class was very weak. The Bears should have gone with a veteran qb this year ( obviously not P J Walker), and looked to the 2024 draft, when Williams and Maye, both look like blue chippers.
Poles isn’t astute enough to be trusted with drafting in the crucial 2024 draft.
Id fire Eberflus now. Let a Coordinator takeover trade away any solid guys they have that wont be back next yr grab as much Draft picks as possible.. In my opinion They need to know by trade deadline iff Fields is their guy.. Iff not trade him try to get a Day 2 pick for him. Come this offseason Draft New QB early sign a Vet to work under sit him 1 year.. Than do whatever you can to get Harbough in Chi.. They need OL for the last 5 yrs ive said it for a long time… As for rebuilding it takes time Poles needs more time.. To rebuild a franchise from scratch you are talking 3-5 yrs till you are playoff bound… They need to hire a HC that have Offense Experiance very few HC in this league win that arnt Offense of guys..
It was obvious after last year that Fields wasn’t the long term answer at qb. He can make big plays running the ball, but has zero capacity to read defenses, and has the worst football instincts I have ever seen in a quarterback.
Fields value at the present time, is a fifth rounder or later. There is no chance of getting a second or third rounder.
Branch Rickey once said, it is better to trade a player a year too early, than a year too late. Fields could have garnered a first rounder, before the draft. Now the Bears would be very lucky to get a fifth rounder. Everyone now knows that Fields is a football player, but not a quarterback. Probably 75 – 80 % of the G M ‘s knew that before this season started. 100%, know it now!!
You need to watch film breakdown of last week by a reputable football mind. You’ll see that no matter who was back there they’d have no shot. Between scheme and online play fields had no shot. I’d say 70% on that and 30% on Fields for not firing the ball and trusting his eyes when he sees the man open for a second
Yes, it’s there in the game film. Eberflus and Getsy telegraphed what they were doing most of the time and failed over and over to make adjustments. There were several plays where the Chiefs had 8 men in the box and holes in the secondary and Getsy failed to change out of the running play. Those guys are just plain not ready for prime time.
Here’s the issue with that approach though-there’s not really anyone to take over. Williams is gone, and Getsy does not have any prior experience at the coordinator level, let alone as a head coach. Eberflus’ inexperience is an issue, but Getsy has less, and in a scenario where Eberflus is fired, there’s not a veteran coordinator right now who has been involved significantly in the game planning who can take over and do better. Getsy would likely get more responsibility in such an arrangement, which may be too much for his experience level.
Thank gosh that tickets have been sold for the season. Only killing the resale market so you’re guaranteed not to fet the 1099 from StubHub for next April if they could have been good for resale. Bad news for Getsy as the only way he gets. Head coaching job is if Eberflus is canned.
Stroud is better than Fields. That’s bad scouting. That’s on the GM.
It might end up being true but saying that after 3 games is ridiculous at best. I don’t think very many people thought that prior to the draft. Armchair statement.
Stroud is better than Fields, and has the size to be an N F L qb ( unlike Young). What was heavily against Stroud, is that no Ohio St qb, has ever made it in the NFL. Waiting until the 2024 draft for a qb, was one of Poles “good moves”. Unfortunately, the bad moves by Poles, outweigh the good ones, and he isn’t astute enough to make the critical 2024 decisions.
Just think They couldve had Mahomes bit all honestly iff he went to Chicago he wouldve been a bust bc it seems they destroy any QB from goin big when they grab them.. At this point does it matter who the HC is??.. Just tank take QB at #1 draft load up on DL OL bench your QB for 1 yr sign Matt Ryan or a Vet suck next yr grab another solid 1st rounder by yr 2 your new QB is starting and developing.. Look at any QB these days most of the good ones sit for 1 yr atleast..
Frankly, I don’t know what the answer is; however, I have noticed that the Offensive Play calling has not changed in YEARS. It’s either a handoff that gains next to nothing or a bubble screen. How often do you see the TE or a WR going across the middle for a pass. The Bears are VERY predictable on Offense. While Fields “wheels” are a Great asset … he needs to be able to pass the ball as Lamar Jackson has shown that he is able.
Clock ticking in Fields. Always come down to the end of first contract and whether team wants to renew at starting QB rate. He was a 1st rounder, so you get the fifth year, but the Bears have successfully thrown away nearly 1.5 years of his 5-year rookie deal.
If they have top pick, I wouldn’t question them for taking a QB, trade Fields to anybody for anything, and reset franchise/clock.