Questions about Matt Eberflus‘ status have emerged once again, as the Bears have lost two straight — the first of which featuring one of the more shocking endings in franchise history — to drop to 4-4. Eberflus fended off firing rumors to receive another chance this year, though he hired a new offensive staff upon being retained. Eberflus did not necessarily enter the season with the kind of playoffs-or-bust mandate Robert Saleh faced in New York, the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs writes, but it is fairly clear the Bears will again need a good second half for the defense-minded coach to feel comfortable.
Eberflus is 14-28 as a coach, though his first season — a 3-14 campaign — featured a gutted roster early in a rebuild. Ryan Poles did not conduct the search that produced Eberflus, being hired only two days before the HC. But the GM is probably a better bet to outlast the coach, should this season go south. Poles and team president Kevin Warren are aligned in their vision, Biggs observes, pointing to the prospect of Poles being given the chance to hire a second coach. Poles would obviously have a greater influence in the Bears’ HC hire a second time around, should a 2025 change take place.
Here is the latest from the NFC North:
- John Cominsky went down with an MCL tear early in training camp, but the Lions waited until setting their 53-man roster to place the defensive lineman on IR. Cominsky is still in the mix to return at some point for the NFC North leaders, though Detroit Football Network’s Justin Rogers notes no reemergence is expected during the regular season. Cominsky is only in play to return if/once the Lions make the playoffs.
- Elsewhere along the Lions’ front seven, Josh Paschal is on the way back after undergoing a recent treatment. The former second-round edge rusher needed to have a noncancerous mass removed. Diagnosed with an aggressive form of skin cancer in 2018, Paschal has needed yearly scans; his latest led to a two-game absence due to the mass needing to be removed, via DetroitLions.com’s Tim Twentyman. Paschal, who worked as a Lions starter in the two games before the hiatus, did not go on IR and is expected to return in Week 10. He will now be joined by trade pickup Za’Darius Smith, and a big role could await as both Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport are out for the regular season’s remainder.
- Jamin Davis spent time as an edge defender during his final season with Washington, but in Green Bay, the former first-round pick has returned to his initial NFL role. The Packers have the 2021 draftee working as an off-ball ‘backer, The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman notes. The Pack added Davis to their practice squad but have yet to elevate him for a game. Green Bay drafted two linebackers on Day 2 this year, though as a 36-game Washington starter from 2021-23, Davis now represents Green Bay insurance and perhaps an intriguing rebound piece.
- Placed on IR due to an ankle injury, Luke Musgrave will not be back for a while. The second-year tight end ultimately needed surgery, Matt LaFleur said recently. LaFleur indicated the hope is Musgrave can return later this season. A second-round pick, Musgrave has seen 2023 third-rounder Tucker Kraft become the Packers’ top tight end. Musgrave also missed six games as a rookie, though he remains in the Packers’ IR-return puzzle for this season.
- After coming up in trade rumors before the deadline, Vikings linebacker Brian Asamoah ended up staying with the team. Minnesota did, however, end up discussing Asamoah with teams, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes. Some degree of interest existed, but the former third-round pick does not have a role on defense right now. Asamoah has yet to start an NFL game, despite having been in the league for three seasons, further limiting his trade value.
CHI should’ve went after Jim Harbaugh. They’ve had a merry-go-round of HCs and Jim would’ve solidified it. Ownership just too cheap.
I have zero desire to see a Bears-Jim Harbaugh reunion. John Harbaugh on the other hand I’d meet at the airport and buy him dinner.
I’d take a Lovie Smith reunion over Jimbo. It will probably be at least another decade before John leaves Baltimore.
So you’d rather continue to have a merry go round of HCs, instead one of the best HCs in the business? Got it!
Best by who’s definition? Not mine. Must be yours.
NFL: 54–25–1 (.681) NCAA: 133–52 (.719)
His record speaks for itself. But Eberflus?
Harbaugh has a great percentage, true, but the counter is that he doesn’t normally stay in one place long enough to see how permanent his success could be. Harbaugh would also have to want to be in Chicago before the Bears could be blamed for letting him slip. Maybe he would, maybe he wouldn’t, but I can’t blame them for missing out if Harbaugh wanted to end up in California again all along.
Do I think that Harbaugh would have been better as a coach than Eberflus? Definitely for the offense, and definitely for a recent college quarterback like Williams. I also think that he’d be better overall in the short term. My question is regarding how long he’d stay-would Harbaugh stick around after Williams’ rookie deal is over and the team has to start withholding money for other contracts? Would he stay after other teams get a library of tape on his offense? Other than Michigan, which enjoys a massive recruiting advantage over the majority of other colleges, Harbaugh’s history says that he wouldn’t.
The word was he already knew Beara ownership was too cheap to pay up for a HC. He pretty much had his choice of jobs to take and having Herbert was a plus for the Chargers. Then there was the question of how much control he wanted and do you need another GM? Bears weren’t going to upend their management for Jim.
My take is this : in football most players are average. Some are really good and some are really bad. Same with HCs and Ks. You don’t get a shot at another really good HC that often, and when one pops up you get him. Chicago isn’t Carolina or Jacksonville, it’s a top 3 city in the US and deserves the best, not wanna-be HCs and the carousel of coaches they’ve had for 40 years. Eberflus is a decent HC. His teams are motivated, they play good defense, they don’t make stupid penalties, and are disciplined. They play well at home like they should. But offensively he’s weak, and it shows with the OCs they’ve had and overall play on the field. Like I said, Jim took Joe Alt in the 1st Rd, Bears took Odunze. That speaks volumes about these teams and where they are at today.
I think that those are fair points.
Uhhh The Chargers picked 5th. The Bears picked 9th. It’s kind of hard to pick a guy when he’s already been picked. The Bears would have had to pick Alt 1st and pass on Williams or Daniels. Plus there’s no indication the Bears missed on either pick. So your logic strays wide to the point. The mistake the Bears constantly make and make repeatedly is keeping some coaches while hiring some new ones. You need to either clear house and start over or keep the ones you have. No matter who runs the Bears they have made this mistake over and over and over again. If Ben Johnson was truly interested in the job as has been reported he should have been hired no questions asked. The only thing you can call the Bears cheap on is they constantly keep coaches and try to piece crap together. It worked with Buddy Ryan and Ditka so they keep pounding that square peg into the round hole. Ryan and Ditka hated each other but it worked. And it was 40 years ago. Enough said. Harbaugh wouldn’t have made a difference. Not to mention he’s a cheater and a jerk. And you like him and I don’t. Didn’t like him when he played here either.