Matt Eberflus didn’t have the first season any head coach would want. Nobody envisions himself having the worst record in the NFL. However, the Chicago Bears head coach clarified that he always expected the possibility. His goal along with GM Ryan Poles was to strip down the roster and rebuild it with players that fit their vision for the organization. They wanted size, length, speed, toughness, and intelligence. It’s a practical approach with one concern. Such things take time to build, and modern NFL fans aren’t known for their patience.
So the Bears went 3-14, the worst record in the league. To their credit, it wasn’t due to lack of effort. Eberflus did a fine job of having guys ready to play every week. Most of their losses were by single digits. Unfortunately, inferior talent and some ill-timed injuries torpedoed them. When thinking about what went wrong, Eberflus wasn’t high on the list for Bears fans. Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports doesn’t see it that way. He ranked Eberflus as the worst coach in the NFL going into 2023. That in itself feels odd since three rookies already rank ahead of him. Yet the reasoning for his placement was the weirdest of all.
32. Matt Eberflus (Bears)
Season: 2nd with CHI, 2nd as HC
Career record: 3-14 | Playoffs: N/A
It’s not all Eberflus’ fault he debuted with a stripped-down roster, but if you’re gonna be a defensive HC in today’s NFL, you’d prefer not to shepherd one of the league’s worst units on that side of the ball. A big leap from QB Justin Fields would help.
That comes with the job. Still, it’s important to keep the facts straight. While he might have a deep defensive background, he wasn’t the one coordinating the Bears’ defense last season. That job fell to coordinator Alan Williams. Eberflus wasn’t the one who jettisoned two key veteran leaders midway through the season. That was Poles. Robert Quinn got traded to Philadelphia and Roquan Smith went to Baltimore. Nobody should’ve been surprised by the unit enduring a collapse down the stretch.
But sure, blame Matt Eberflus. Nobody gives him credit for engineering the midseason turnaround of Justin Fields or the #1 rushing attack in the NFL. It’s fine to be skeptical of Eberflus. Just make sure your arguments are backed by tangible evidence. He got everything he could out of a gutted roster. One or two lucky bounces and his team might’ve won six games instead of three. Ranking him in the bottom 20s is fine, but dead last? That feels like nothing more than a biased shot.
