The Chicago Bears are most well-known for their long, tortured history at quarterback. It is something they haven’t been able to solve for the past eight decades. Hopes are high that Caleb Williams might finally end the misery. However, perhaps their track record as head coach is equally frustrating. George Halas was an all-time great. Since he retired in 1968, it’s been mostly a run of mediocre-to-bad. The past 11 years might be the worst it’s ever been with Marc Trestman, John Fox, Matt Nagy, and now Matt Eberflus. People are struggling to understand why this keeps happening. Lance Briggs has a theory.
The seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker was asked about the head coaching woes on the CHGO Bears Podcast. He believes the problem lies with the types of personalities the team targets. While most of them aren’t necessarily bad coaches, all were completely ill-equipped to handle Chicago. They had no concept of how demanding this city’s fans are and how unforgiving the media can be. Many coaches don’t know how to handle that. Just watching Eberflus’ press conferences makes that clear. He never understood Chicago.
His career started under Dick Jauron in 2003 before moving to Lovie Smith for the next nine seasons and then ending with Marc Trestman in 2013. Jauron and Trestman were well-meaning guys, but their subdued personalities made them easy prey for the fans and media. Once things went poorly, they didn’t know how to stop things from spiraling. Smith was different. He understood Chicago from the outset. His first team goal upon arrival was to beat Green Bay. He’d done his homework. Mike Ditka played for the franchise in the 1960s. He also understood the city better than anybody.
The Bears need to find that. Yes, they want a coach who is a leader of men. However, they also need one who is mentally tough enough to deal with the inevitable firestorms of fan outrage and media controversy that will arrive when things go poorly. Lance Briggs is correct. Good coaches aren’t necessarily good everywhere. It is all about the right fit. Once Eberflus is fired in January, the upcoming search for his replacement must center around finding the guy who isn’t intimidated by Chicago.
