Bears wide receiver DJ Moore, who has an understated way of telling it like it is, captured the paradox facing the Bears in their coaching search in the aftermath of their eighth consecutive loss Monday night against the Vikings.
“An offense-minded coach would take it to the next level, but whoever comes in here has just got to lead the men in the locker room in the direction of a winning streak,” Moore said Tuesday during his paid weekly appearance on “The Mully & Haugh Show” on 670 The Score.
Therein lies the big issue that nobody has any faith in the brain trust at Halas Hall to figure out: The Bears desperately need an Andy Reid/Sean McVay/Kyle Shanahan quarterback whisperer to develop Caleb Williams — and not leave once that mission is accomplished.
But the Bears also might need, cliché as it might be, a “leader of men” guy, a strong-willed coach who will shake things up at Halas Hall, rattle the McCaskey cage and set the trajectory of the team in his own football-rooted image instead of the McCaskeys’ kumbaya-rooted image. And the most obvious headstrong, leader-of-men candidates are defensive coaches — Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel and the now-unavailable Bill Belichick among them.
The Bears almost certainly will go with the offensive coach, especially with the risk of “ruining” Williams higher than ever after their 30-12 loss to the Vikings. But they somehow have to find the quarterback guru who also has command of the whole team, as Reid, McVay and Shanahan do.
Good luck with that. This is an organization that interviewed Kliff Kingsbury, Liam Coen, Klint Kubiak, Zac Robinson, Marcus Brady and Thomas Brown, among others, for their offensive coordinator opening in January and instead hired Shane Waldron.
Let’s face it: The Bears’ best chance of finding their Andy Reid is to find their Clark Hunt. And until that happens — if ever — everything the Bears do will be a roll of the dice.
2. Embattled general manager Ryan Poles keeps clinging to the Bears’ resilience like a lifeline.
“We bring in resilient people, and that’s to go through adverse times like we’re going through,” he said on the pregame show Monday on ESPN 1000. “That’s why guys have stuck together in the locker room.”
But resilience is shown not just in the locker room but on the field. And this team that thinks it’s resilient is almost the opposite of resilient — it never fails to disappoint. Since the Hail Mary loss to the Commanders on Oct. 27, the Bears have failed to respond every time.
Monday’s loss was more of the same. The Bears were behind 13-0 at halftime. The next man up, left tackle Kiran Amegadjie, played like the rookie he is in his first start. The Bears were called for 11 penalties — one that wiped out a sack by defensive end Montez Sweat, one that nullified a touchdown by running back D’Andre Swift and two that nullified an interception by cornerback Tyrique Stevenson.
Brown, the interim coach, was a figurative breath of fresh air after Matt Eberflus was fired on Nov. 29. Several players clearly embraced his leadership. Yet in two games under Brown, it’s like Eberflus never left.
3. Coordinator Vic Fangio’s Eagles defense is first in the NFL in points allowed (17.6 per game) and yards allowed (275.6) after a 27-13 victory over the Steelers on Sunday. The Eagles allowed 163 total yards, the Steelers’ fewest since 2010, when Charlie Batch was playing for suspended starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Of all the hires at Halas Hall, from offensive and defensive coordinators up to president, since George McCaskey became chairman in 2011, Fangio is the lone home run. And to anyone who has met Fangio even once, it’s not a surprise that he was the one hire immune to the effects of the Bears’ dysfunction — and as good with the Bears as he was before he arrived.
4. If Moore looks like he’s taking this all in stride, there’s good reason. This is the fourth time in his seven seasons that his team has lost seven or more games after a winning record.
In fact, the last NFL team to lose eight straight after a winning record was the 2019 Panthers, who were 5-3 when they lost their final eight games. (Coach Ron Rivera was fired four games into the skid.)
Moore, who was then in his second season, was averaging 101.7 yards per game and 14.9 yards per catch in the first six games of that streak before suffering a concussion against Eberflus’ Colts in Week 16.
5. The Bears’ last eight touchdowns have come with them trailing by 10 points or more — 27-6, 31-6, 24-0, 23-13, 23-7, 16-0, 27-16 and 24-10.
Their last touchdown that gave them a lead was Roschon Johnson’s one-yard run that put them up 7-0 with 53 seconds left in the first quarter against the Vikings on Nov. 24 at Soldier Field. That lead lasted 59 seconds; the Vikings needed just three plays to respond for a 7-7 tie.
6. Amegadjie was in a tough spot in his first career start against the Vikings’ defense. And it came on late notice. He wasn’t told he was starting until Saturday, when Braxton Jones was diagnosed with a concussion.
Amegadjie, a third-round pick in April (No. 75 overall), had a rough game. He allowed a strip-sack and was called for four penalties — holding twice, a false start and ineligible man downfield. It sounded like a nightmare.
“Just didn’t execute,” the Hinsdale Central product said. “I played with bad technique. I played outside myself. I didn’t know I was going to be the starter the whole week, but I prepared like it. Just didn’t play within myself when it mattered most. I have no excuses. I’ve got to be better.”
7. Amegadjie’s struggles might have been an even worse look for Poles, who drafted him. Amegadjie was one of 10 offensive linemen taken in the first 22 picks of the third round.
Pro Football Focus has right guard Dominick Puni of the 49ers (drafted at No. 86) ranked sixth among 127 NFL guards this season. Cowboys center Cooper Beebe (No. 73) ranks 21st among 60 centers. Raiders tackle Delmar Glaze (No. 77), Colts right tackle Matt Goncalves (No. 79), Commanders left tackle Brandon Coleman (No. 67) and Cardinals right guard Isaiah Adams (No. 71) are current starters.
8. Quick Hits: In his last four games, Williams has a 108.8 passer rating (eight touchdowns, no interceptions) when down 10 or more points and an 84.1 rating (no touchdowns, no interceptions) when within 10 points or leading. . . . The Bears have been outscored 53-0 in the first half over their last three games (24-0, 16-0, 13-0). . . . With Amegadjie playing for Jones, the Bears fielded their sixth different starting offensive line combination in 14 games this season, and their 24th in 48 games under Poles. . . . Williams’ streak of eight games without an interception is tied for the eighth most since the NFL-AFL merger. Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert’s 11-game streak ended Sunday against the Buccaneers.
9. Josh McCown Ex-Bears Player of the Week: Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith had five tackles (making every one of them count), one quarterback hit and one pass breakup in a 35-14 victory over the Giants.
10. Bear-ometer — 4-13: vs. Lions (L); vs. Seahawks (L); at Packers (L).
