Bears have fired Matt Eberflus

[HurricaneBear]

All of this “oh but not like that” stuff is goofy.

Maybe.

JMSO, it just looks bad to appear as though you haven't decided whether you're going to make a move or not and you send the soon-to-be fired guy out to meet the press.

Maybe George hadn't been convinced yet?

[Bears Whiskey Nut]

If true, good on him! I did feel that Eberflus was demonstrably more dejected in his pressers, so it would make sense.

It very well could be why we haven't heard from Poles over the last few weeks. My guess was that Poles was ready to fire him after the Commanders game. That was egregious coaching malpractice, and it has gone downhill from that point. I think he has avoided the microphone, because he had nothing good to say about Eberflus.

[docc]

[video][/video]


sometimes nice guys don't finish at all\\\\\

[Xee]

Who knows who was the real driver behind this. I really hope it was Poles because it shows he has the ability to make decisions that are the best for the business even when they conflict with his personal feelings. If it was George who was the driver though, that raises tons of questions about Poles ability to be an effective GM.

[Bears Whiskey Nut]

Maybe.

JMSO, it just looks bad to appear as though you haven't decided whether you're going to make a move or not and you send the soon-to-be fired guy out to meet the press.

Maybe George hadn't been convinced yet?

Yeah. The fact they let him go out for his Zoom call is a nothing burger.

[G08]

I am curious... if Thomas Brown goes 3-2 to close out the season and the defense plays better, is there a chance that we run it back with the same coaching staff next season?

[cblaz11]

Holmes has been in a weird freefall for a couple years. Feels like he’s reduced himself to either whining about something or ranting about it.

Holmes is a conundrum. He makes for great radio and has a lot of insight, but he struggles in anything but a solo environment.

Holmes was tainted by Bernstein..IMO, he was one of the best around then he was influenced way too much by DB.

[karhu]

I've said this before but now is the time for the Bears to hire their Phil Jackson.

They might have. Jackson was an assistant for two or three years before replacing Doug Collins.

Or they might not want to. Jackson's previous coaching experience was with the Albany Patroons and a team in Puerto Rico.

[Bears Whiskey Nut]

I am curious... if Thomas Brown goes 3-2 to close out the season and the defense plays better, is there a chance that we run it back with the same coaching staff next season?

UGH! That's a tough one. It has to revolve around Caleb's development and the progress of the team as a whole. We have to see significant turn around in the defense. I want to see more creative blitz packages. I want to see proof that TB can coach as well from the sidelines as he can from the booth. I want to see quick decisive decisions from TB. Lastly, there have to be wins to back up the progress. I also think if most of that happens, and the players claim that they think they can win with TB, that will hold a lot of weight.

I jump back and forth, and I would love to see TB make the most of this opportunity. But at the end of the day it has to be who can lead the team to the most victories.

[IotaNet]

I've said this before but now is the time for the Bears to hire their Phil Jackson.

They might have. Jackson was an assistant for two or three years before replacing Doug Collins.

Or they might not want to. Jackson's previous coaching experience was with the Albany Patroons and a team in Puerto Rico.

Yeah - I conceded that point further upthread.

The better comparison is when the Cubs hired Joe Maddon.

[Wounded Bear]

Well, I hope to god that they have the good sense to at least give Ted Phillips a call and run any candidates by him first.

[karhu]

Brown's going to be tough to fully evaluate, for a couple of reasons.

One, he's still working from Shane Waldron's playbook, even though he's tweaked it a bit. What we're seeing is how he works with the team, especially his QB, and the tempo and syncopation with which he calls each series, drawing from a playbook that's almost certainly more conservative than he'd like and under the broader game plan written by a very bad coach. That's worth a lot IMSO, but only if we look at the right things.

Two, he's got a long week to completely overhaul his own role and those of a batch of other coaches, especially the coordinators. He might get a few things wrong this year, but we need to remember that he's working with what he's got. He might like Jerrod Johnson as his OC (I sure wouldn't mind), and he might want Christian Parker as his DC (ditto), but he'd need the keys next year to make that happen.

It'll be enough if he sets the tone, grabs the reins, tightens up gametime decision-making, and gives the team a renewed sense of common purpose. That might not translate into wins or even terrific football, but IMSO if he does those things, he could be a Kevin O'Connell type and well worth a big investment.

[karhu]

They might have. Jackson was an assistant for two or three years before replacing Doug Collins.

Or they might not want to. Jackson's previous coaching experience was with the Albany Patroons and a team in Puerto Rico.

Yeah - I conceded that point further upthread.

The better comparison is when the Cubs hired Joe Maddon.

Sorry about that--got the news late and was just making my way through the thread.

[karhu]

Well, I hope to god that they have the good sense to at least give Ted Phillips a call and run any candidates by him first.

That's what collaborative decision-making is all about, right?

[Magilla_Gorilla]

I am curious... if Thomas Brown goes 3-2 to close out the season and the defense plays better, is there a chance that we run it back with the same coaching staff next season?

I would hope that Brown has his own staff in mind. Its entirely possible that their would be overlap, but I wouldn't want him to take the job if he was being forced to keep on the rest of the coaching staff.

[thunderspirit]

Maybe George hadn't been convinced yet?

Yeah. The fact they let him go out for his Zoom call is a nothing burger.

I disagree entirely.

It shows that they have no concept of optics – an announcement that the press conference was being postponed until, say, 1 p.m. was basically free and wouldn't have resulted in letting him talk and firing him two hours later. It also gives the appearance that there's no respect for the now-former head coach. That's particularly important when the main reason the Bears have never done an in-season firing before is out of respect for the head coach.

I can understand why some of you guys think it's nothing. I don't think it is.

[G08]

Yeah. The fact they let him go out for his Zoom call is a nothing burger.

I disagree entirely.

It shows that they have no concept of optics – an announcement that the press conference was being postponed until, say, 1 p.m. was basically free and wouldn't have resulted in letting him talk and firing him two hours later. It also gives the appearance that there's no respect for the now-former head coach. That's particularly important when the main reason the Bears have never done an in-season firing before is out of respect for the head coach.

I can understand why some of you guys think it's nothing. I don't think it is.

I think they wanted the Monday morning routine / responsibilities to be completed before they told him to take a hike. The fact that nobody else has met the press today tells me they don't want to discuss it -- this helps explain (to me, anyway) their rationale.

[G08]

I am curious... if Thomas Brown goes 3-2 to close out the season and the defense plays better, is there a chance that we run it back with the same coaching staff next season?

I would hope that Brown has his own staff in mind. Its entirely possible that their would be overlap, but I wouldn't want him to take the job if he was being forced to keep on the rest of the coaching staff.

No argument here.

[HisRoyalSweetness]

On the subject of Eberflus's morning Zoom call, it's not up on either the Bears website or their YouTube channel.

[HisRoyalSweetness]

It very well could be why we haven't heard from Poles over the last few weeks. My guess was that Poles was ready to fire him after the Commanders game. That was egregious coaching malpractice, and it has gone downhill from that point. I think he has avoided the microphone, because he had nothing good to say about Eberflus.

He may not have done any pressers but he's been doing weekly pre-game interviews with Jeff Joniak so it's not like we haven't heard from him:

viewtopic.php?p=399997&sid=7ba27ecf2b28 ... 59#p399997

[UOK]

[Moriarty]

I am curious... if Thomas Brown goes 3-2 to close out the season and the defense plays better, is there a chance that we run it back with the same coaching staff next season?

See, that's a major strike against Brown, right there, IMO.


A new coach would clean house.
Since Brown worked with all of them, he might be too friendly to get rid of everyone that needs it.
At the very least, I want Morgan and the conditioning staff and/or trainers out, unless he's absolutely certain injuries came from Eberflus overpracticing.


And before anyone declares him "too good to make a mistake like that", bear in mind Poles just kept Velus way too long and Eberflus too long, because he liked/believed in/was invested in them.

[wab]

I am curious... if Thomas Brown goes 3-2 to close out the season and the defense plays better, is there a chance that we run it back with the same coaching staff next season?

See, that's a major strike against Brown, right there, IMO.


A new coach would clean house.
Since Brown worked with all of them, he might be too friendly to get rid of everyone that needs it.
At the very least, I want Morgan and the conditioning staff and/or trainers out, unless he's absolutely certain injuries came from Eberflus overpracticing.


And before anyone declares him "too good to make a mistake like that", bear in mind Poles just kept Velus way too long and Eberflus too long, because he liked/believed in/was invested in them.

FWIW I don’t think Washington has done a bad job.

[Moriarty]

See, that's a major strike against Brown, right there, IMO.


A new coach would clean house.
Since Brown worked with all of them, he might be too friendly to get rid of everyone that needs it.
At the very least, I want Morgan and the conditioning staff and/or trainers out, unless he's absolutely certain injuries came from Eberflus overpracticing.


And before anyone declares him "too good to make a mistake like that", bear in mind Poles just kept Velus way too long and Eberflus too long, because he liked/believed in/was invested in them.

FWIW I don’t think Washington has done a bad job.

I have no idea.
How can you tell what's his influence and what's Eberflus?

[wab]

This makes sense.

[Moriarty]

Normally, I would say "Why the hell didn't that meeting between McCaskey, Warren and Poles happen Thursday evening?!?"
I suppose with it being Thanksgiving you can excuse that.
But it does make for awkward timing at a time when they're already not looking good.

[malk]

See, that's a major strike against Brown, right there, IMO.


A new coach would clean house.
Since Brown worked with all of them, he might be too friendly to get rid of everyone that needs it.
At the very least, I want Morgan and the conditioning staff and/or trainers out, unless he's absolutely certain injuries came from Eberflus overpracticing.


And before anyone declares him "too good to make a mistake like that", bear in mind Poles just kept Velus way too long and Eberflus too long, because he liked/believed in/was invested in them.

FWIW I don’t think Washington has done a bad job.

If it was Brown then it'd have to be his call, but despite being 4-8 we're still 241 points scored to 240 conceded, which is crazy to say we've shitcanned a coach mid season for the first time. Which is to say that if we play the rest of the season well enough for Brown to be considered then there's probably a decent case to be made for keeping some continuity. Still I can't see it happening, there seems to be a decent amount of bad blood built up and, unfairly or otherwise, getting a new DC in to take on a talented group is probably the likely outcome.

And anyway, I want to see Brown succeed first! We've just thrown away 3 divisional games in a row by a combined 7 points. Give me a emotional win against the 49ers in new regime game one, two revenge wins in the division, a celebration in the final home game of the season against the Seahawks and then a fucking statement game in Lambeau announcing that shit is going to be different from here on out.

[G08]

FWIW I don’t think Washington has done a bad job.

I have no idea.
How can you tell what's his influence and what's Eberflus?

We are about to find out. That's what I absolutely love about this franchise "breaking tradition" and firing the head coach during the season.

Let's see what Thomas Brown is all about, and let's see what Eric Washington can do with this defense.

[mmmc_35]

I have no idea.
How can you tell what's his influence and what's Eberflus?

We are about to find out. That's what I absolutely love about this franchise "breaking tradition" and firing the head coach during the season.

Let's see what Thomas Brown is all about, and let's see what Eric Washington can do with this defense.

I think the only way you can fairly judge either is to have a HC not from either side.

[Bears Whiskey Nut]

I have no idea.
How can you tell what's his influence and what's Eberflus?

We are about to find out. That's what I absolutely love about this franchise "breaking tradition" and firing the head coach during the season.

Let's see what Thomas Brown is all about, and let's see what Eric Washington can do with this defense.

Such a good point. The 49'ers game is going to A LOT of Eberflus's shortcomings. If the Bears come out and house San Francisco, this is going to go down as the "Lost Season." I would love to see Washington run some exotic blitzes, mug the LOS, etc. Play like a real NFL defense.