The Bears don’t need to spend another day figuring out if Matt Eberflus is the right coach. If it wasn’t already clear, that question was answered conclusively Sunday.
Desperate for a win and hosting the NFL’s worst team, the Bears lost 19-3 to the Patriots, and fans streamed out well before it was done. With his team getting worse as the season progresses, Eberflus has no defense for what’s happening on his watch.
The Bears would be more than justified in breaking their unwritten policy of not firing a coach during the season. They’ll only continue to spiral under Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.
Eberflus spoke afterward about “accepting accountability” and said he will “take full responsibility” for the Bears’ worst performance of the season but didn’t specify anything he should’ve handled better.
“The whole thing, right?” he said. “That’s the job of the head coach. Accountability for everything.”
The best Eberflus offered as concrete change was that he’d consider taking play-calling away from Waldron. Demoting or firing him likely would leave the job to passing-game coordinator Thomas Brown.
That might help, but it’s hard to picture it saving the season. Or Eberflus.
After wasting the easier half of the schedule by starting 4-5, the Bears face a treacherous path. If they got booed off the field against the pitiful Patriots, what happens when the Packers come to town next?
When the crowd wasn’t booing, it was chanting for Eberflus’ dismissal.
“Just get back to work,” he said in reaction. “It’s part of the job. You’ve got to stand strong and make the necessary adjustments.”
It’s time for general manager Ryan Poles to let go of optimism and accept that he got it wrong with Eberflus and Waldron. These aren’t the guys.
The locker room subtly has been telling the world that for a while, though players avoided direct questions about it Sunday or said they supported Eberflus and Waldron. Eberflus was certain he hadn’t lost the locker room because “I’ve built tight relationships with those guys.”
Various veterans and captains have raised issues that point to coaching, though. If for no other reason, it’s worth making a change now rather than waiting until the end of the season.
The most alarming issue — there are plenty from which to choose — is the stagnancy of rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. It appears that almost anyone but Eberflus and Waldron would be better equipped to develop him, and given his potential, there will be a line of candidates wanting to try.
Williams is “confident” in Eberflus and credited him for a mostly veteran team rallying behind him as a rookie. Nine games into his career, he seemed surprised by being asked to weigh in on Eberflus’ job security. Welcome to the Bears, Caleb.
The details on the latest disaster are exhausting and nauseating. The Bears are the football embodiment of the flu.
The offense mustered only 142 yards, went 1-for-14 on third down and has gone 23 possessions without a touchdown. Tight end Cole Kmet called it “a pretty big step back.” The only bigger step back is to zero.
The defense couldn’t shut down the Patriots’ running game or rookie quarterback Drake Maye, who drove his team to two field goals in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
Excuses don’t change anything. Lots of teams have injuries on the offensive line. Defenses are allowed an occasional lapse. Young quarterbacks typically have turbulence. Coaches find ways to navigate those issues.
In three seasons, every low point for Eberflus has been followed by a previously unimaginable lower point. Every last straw somehow turned out not to be the last straw. It’s not getting better.
That’s untenable for the Bears, and they’ve seen enough to know that.