Matt Eberflus earned the dubious honor of being the first head coach in Chicago Bears history to get fired midseason. Then again, it wasn’t the first such accomplishment in his ugly run at the job. He also has the longest losing streak in franchise history at 14 games, went 5-19 in one-score games, and is the only coach to never beat the Green Bay Packers. It’s no wonder everything fell apart when it did. The timeout gaffe in Detroit was merely the straw that broke the camel’s back. In reality, that implosion was several months in the making. Jaylon Johnson was the spark.
Everybody heard the story. As Eberflus tried to give another of his usual speeches about sticking together, the star cornerback couldn’t take it anymore. He exploded at the head coach with such emotional fury that Eberflus was forced to step out of the room. For the first time in weeks, Johnson spoke about what happened via Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times.
“I wouldn’t even say it had anything to do with [Eberflus],” Johnson told the Sun-Times on Wednesday. “It had everything to do with losing. We’re doing things right and still not winning games. We’ve had plenty of those.
“When you lose so much — and you put so much into it — it starts to take a toll on you a little bit. And instead of letting that out at home or something, I let that out in the midst of the frustration in the locker room. I did it the right way. I didn’t demean anybody. I wasn’t disrespectful in any way. It was just emotionally expressing my frustration from over the years.”
Keep in mind that he was used to success throughout college. Utah went 7-6, 9-5, and 11-3 during his time there. To go from that to a team that has failed to record a winning record in five seasons is a bitter pill to swallow. Jaylon Johnson likely feels the Bears are wasting his prime years. Yes, he got a massive extension and is set up financially for the rest of his life, but that isn’t why he plays the game. He wants a Super Bowl ring. That is the dream. To not even get an opportunity to pursue one is incredibly deflating, especially when the head coach is actively sabotaging your chances with his ongoing ineptitude. Eberflus may not have been the sole target of Johnson’s outburst, but there is no question he was the well-deserved focal point.
