There’s a storm blowing through Chicago in 2023, and it’s not just because it’s been immortalized as ‘The Windy City’. This particular catastrophe is man-made, however, and it’s been orchestrated by Coach Matt Eberflus and his staff – who have turned a potential contender into a laughingstock. That’s why the 53-year-old ‘leader’ of this trainwreck of a team isn’t likely to return in 2024. As a matter of fact, he might not even survive the rest of this year.
Bears Coach Matt Eberflus addresses the media on Sunday | SCREENSHOT: Chicago Bears/YouTube
That’s because Chicago (1-5) was supposed to be much improved this year under developing quarterback Justin Fields. Unfortunately, the developing part hasn’t happened much, and the Bears’ promising prospect has regressed. After coming off a season where they ended up with three wins, the worst record in the NFL, and ended up with the first overall pick? You would like to see at least some improvement, but thus far, Eberflus has no answers and no plan.
To make matters worse, the young star has been very vocal about not feeling comfortable in the system being run by the Bears offensive coaching staff, and he’s supposed the main cog in the engine. As he grows, this team grows. At least that’s the bill of goods that the Chi-Town faithful were sold. It hasn’t happened, and so far, they haven’t seen any signs that it’s happening.
While not many were ready to call Chicago a playoff team in 2023, it was expected that they would be vastly improved. But right now, they sit in last place in the NFC North – clearly behind every other team in the division, even the rebuilding Packers and the fading Vikings. Fields has a paltry 40.4 Quarterback Rating, throwing just 11 touchdowns this year, to go along with six interceptions.
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Meanwhile, over on the Bears’ sideline, the guy in charge has a winning percentage somewhere under the Mendoza Line. He’s also displayed a lack of institutional leadership – one that was on display with the way he handled the Chase Claypool situation over the past 11 months. In press conferences, he can go from being aloof to downright misinformed, and he often displays the ‘deer in headlights’ look that we’ve seen from so many first-time head coaches in the past. He’s been elevated in name only, by default almost. But his skill set didn’t grow along with his lofty title.
Like many of those promoted before him, Uberflus was hired by the Bears after building an impressive resume as a coordinator. Unfortunately, we have seen many great football minds that just simply did not translate into being great headmen, themselves. They are better when they are in charge of a slice of the team, rather than having to manage the whole pie. Guys like Norv Turner, Mike Martz, Josh McDaniels, Steve Spagnuolo, and several others have been deemed ‘geniuses’ as play-callers, only to display their weakness as overall leaders when given their own opportunities at the top job.
Matt Uberflus appears to be another one of those coaches, and although he only joined the Bears prior to the 2022 season? He’s already hindered their growth and shown no signs that he, himself, can mature as a leader right alongside them.
Bears quarterback Justin Fields has struggled under Matt Eberflus | SCREENSHOT: Clip Heaven/YouTube
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Right now, the storied Chicago franchise is in danger of having the worst record in the NFL for the second consecutive season. And if they don’t then Carolina might, and the Bears own their pick as well – following a trade prior to the 2023 Draft. It’s conceivable that the team could end up with the top two selections in 2024 and a chance to fortify a team that has a ton of potential.
At the same time, the Bears are tackling their stadium issue, which has been a little erratic as they tried to decide between staying in the city or moving out to the ‘burbs. It’s still in the works, but terrible and BORING play on the field right now isn’t going to do much to swell any support for a new stadium. It may sound silly in the grand scheme of things, but it never hurts to have some good PR when you’re asking for billions of dollars. And no team wants to move into their shiny, new digs only to have their doors blown off before they even get comfortable.
This franchise can easily build a winner around the pieces it has in place now. But they need a few big guns to do so, and the upcoming draft will be where that starts. If Chicago’s front office is smart? They will let their woefully overmatched coach continue to be a lame duck the rest of the way, and then fire him and hire him with someone who has head coaching experience. Then, use those two high picks to build the Bears team of 2024 and beyond… one that does not include Matt Uberflus.
Ryan Boman is the author of the 2023 book, Pop Music & Peanut Butter: A Collection of Essays about Embracing Life with Laughter & Love. Follow him on social media @RyanKBoman
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