Getty Head coach Matt Eberflus of the Chicago Bears.
The Chicago Bears may make a change at the top of the coaching staff during the offseason, but that isn’t something currently on the mind of Matt Eberflus.
Chicago’s head coach met with media members on Monday, December 4, at Halas Hall. A reporter asked Eberflus even he felt “safe” in his job considering rumors that his second season at the helm may be his last with the Bears.
“All you can focus on is leadership,” Eberflus said. “The first rule of leadership is leading yourself. Come to work every day, put the plans together — offense, defense, special teams. Lead the football team. Help the leadership council lead the football team as well because true leadership comes from within. And I think that’s really what you focus on. Put your best foot forward every single day.”
Bears Coach Matt Eberflus to Keep Job Through End of Season: Report
GettyChicago Bears CEO and President Kevin Warren.
Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported on Saturday that Eberflus is safe in his job, at least for the remainder of the season.
“The Chicago Bears have no plans to make any in-season moves regarding their coaching staff,” Russini wrote. “A league source told me this current staff is expected to finish out the regular season, and then decisions will be made.”
The organization’s choices won’t be limited to just Eberflus’s future, according to Russini, but to the futures of quarterback Justin Fields and even general manager Ryan Poles.
A league source told me [CEO/President Kevin] Warren has been given the power to oversee Poles and the Bears front office. He’s earned it, too, with more than two decades of experience in the NFL. Warren has a strong hand in football operations and will have a significant role in the potential firings, hirings, and decisions at the quarterback position.
He won’t be making any knee-jerk decisions or choosing a path for optics. He’s described as methodical. Unemotional. A planner. There’s a long-term approach being applied. It doesn’t take a lot of emotion to see that the Bears could be in line for another major overhaul.
Bears Predicted to Move on From Justin Fields in Offseason
GettyQuarterback Justin Fields of the Chicago Bears could be on his way out of town next offseason.
Poles has only had a couple of years in the job and has a good relationship with Warren. GMs also typically have more rope than the head coach, so Poles’ job may be the most secure of them all.
Eberflus is 7-22 nearly two years into his first run in the big job, and the team has made only minimal strides despite a load of draft picks and cap space to spend ahead of the 2023 campaign. If Chicago decides it needs a scapegoat, he’s a likely candidate.
Finally, the notion that the Bears might part ways with Fields this offseason is hardly new, but it has been heating up. Both Poles and Eberflus inherited Fields. The QB hasn’t turned the corner as a passer in his third season, and the brass could decide to move on from him now that it has the leverage of what could be the top overall pick in the 2024 draft.
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune did a hit on the “Mully & Haugh Show” on December 1, during which he predicted the Bears will make a change under center in the offseason.
“That’s where it appears to be headed as I evaluate the situation,” Biggs said. “There are five games remaining, so he’s got an opportunity to change the trajectory of this thing.”
If Chicago does decide to dump Fields, it will do so via a trade that should bring back first- or second-round value in return. The team will then use the Carolina Panthers‘ first-round pick, which it acquired in a trade ahead of the 2023 draft, to select a high-ranking QB prospect — presumably Caleb Williams of USC or Drake May of North Carolina.