The Chicago Bears elected to keep the status quo going into 2024. It wasn’t a surprise. The team had improved from 3-14 to 7-10 last season, so it felt like they were headed in the right direction. GM Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus seemed to have fostered a strong culture built around effort and intensity. One more push could get them over the hump. Now, here they are, having squandered a 4-2 start to reach 4-5 with the toughest remaining schedule in the NFL still ahead. Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was fired. He is the eighth assistant Eberflus has dismissed. Many aren’t wondering if there will be changes in January, but how many? That depends on Kevin Warren.
As the new team president, the McCaskey family empowered him to lead the organization, including potential big decisions on the football side. Keep in mind that Warren wasn’t around when Poles and Eberflus were hired. He has no direct ties to either man, making him a wild card in what comes next. According to a source, there is a belief among people close to Warren that he intends to overhaul the football operations if things continue on their current path.
“Clean house” were the words used.
Eberflus doesn’t need much explanation. Barring a major turnaround, he will complete his third consecutive losing season, during which he routinely got accused of overcoaching and squandering two talented young quarterbacks. Firing two offensive coordinators in 11 months sums it all up. Poles is a more complicated case. He deserves credit for the masterful Carolina trade that landed Williams, D.J. Moore, and other talented pieces for their rebuild. He’s constructed a solid defense as well. However, he is also saddled with some ugly misses like Larry Ogunjobi, Chase Claypool, and Nate Davis. There is also the fact he hired Eberflus and chose to keep him despite knowing the Bears would draft a quarterback this year.
Many Bears fans wouldn’t fault Kevin Warren if he chooses to wipe the slate clean. The obvious question would be who he might bring in as replacements. At GM, he has ties with two notable names. Former Minnesota Vikings GM Rick Spielman worked with him for 13 years between 2006 and 2019. Spielman is also a former Bears director of pro personnel. The other is Martin Mayhew, former GM of the Lions and Commanders. He worked with Warren for three years in Detroit.
As for the head coach, he has connections to Kevin Stefanski, Klint Kubiak, Drew Petzing, Eric Bieniemy, and Joe Woods. The next couple of months should get interesting.
