Last week, the Chicago Bears fired their head coach for the fifth time since January 2012, dismissing Matt Eberflus after less than three seasons in charge. The decision came down on Black Friday following an extensive meeting between GM Ryan Poles, team president Kevin Warren, and chairman George McCaskey. It was the first time in over a century that the Bears have done this. However, Poles had no regrets about the decision. He made that clear in Monday’s press conference.
While the GM didn’t look happy to be there, he still answered questions about what happened. From his answers, it appears the decision to fire Eberflus came from two directions. First and most obvious was the former coach’s inability to manage end-of-game decisions, constantly costing the team chances to win. The other was the growing fear that the locker room may fracture beyond repair. It had become apparent that Eberflus couldn’t command it anymore.
The organization had tried to give Eberflus the benefit of the doubt. He’d pulled himself out of death spirals before. Last season was a perfect example, starting 0-4 and then finishing 7-6. Despite some misgivings about giving him the chance to oversee Caleb Williams’ early development, the Bears elected to maintain the status quo. However, it became clear after the New England loss that Ryan Poles risked the team imploding if the primary issue wasn’t removed. The McCaskeys resisted for another three weeks until that Detroit fiasco on national TV forced their hands. Eberflus was out. Thomas Brown is now in for the time being. Poles must now figure out how to fix what is broken.
