Bears have fired Matt Eberflus

[Grizzled]

Good write-up in the Athletic:

https://theathletic.com/3069761/2022/01 ... mes-trash/

Failures picking GM. Failures picking head coaches. Choices at GM picking the wrong QB in the draft and the wrong head coach. Wash, rinse, repeat for too many years now.

[The Marshall Plan]

Has there been a dumber ownership group in the NFL for the past 40 years?

Or should we dust off Dan Hampton and hypnotize the pleebs with more nostalgia?

[EricTighe]

The Lions, Browns and Jets may have been worse.

[Grizzled]

Has there been a dumber ownership group in the NFL for the past 40 years?

Or should we dust off Dan Hampton and hypnotize the pleebs with more nostalgia?

The Giants have won 4 Super Bowls in that period but have been as disfunctional as the Bears since their last in 2012. Several teams that haven't even made it to a SB or won one so they'd have to rank up there also.

[PaulM]

Well, after a few games we can see that the Bears are again and again only average, maybe less. No SB contender and far away from being it.
I wont grumble to much because there are many games left, but with no expectations!
Fields looks just as trubisky, lost on the field.

What happened so far? IMO the same failures as always!
The bears fired again the hole staff, thinking that new guys will bring better results.
Its the trial and error strategy.
Well, the approach of hiring new staff looks initially very logical...
McCaskey hired guys from Chiefs and Packers...successful teams...hoping to get the knowledge of becoming/ being successful --> as Tampa did with Brady!
But the result? Pretty much nothing!

Normally each team gets a chance of being a SB contender every few years because of the best talented players from the draft after bad results in the League.
There are only a few teams never become a SB aspirant, maybe Jets and Browns or Lions.... and I guess one more team: the Bears!
Very disappointing!
And there are reasons for it! Reasons for success and disappointment!
McCaskey is no former player and gets no education of being a real manager (so my assumption).
It needs to find a GM with an new philosophy and all responsibilities!
But McCaskey hired the hole staff. It could be overconfidence as the owner! But it looks more like incompetence!
It is incompetence if you are ineffective for so many many years!

[malk]

Eeehh, unpopular opinion here but the whole thing is overblown. If you look back at the past 20 years you have:

Tail end of Jauron (and things were shit for a while before then admittedly!).
9 years of Lovie, 0.563 overall, 5 winning seasons, a Super Bowl appearance and another conference championship appearance. Only 3 times in the playoffs was disappointing overall but it was still a good era, especially considering that after his first season (5-11) the three worst of the period were 2x 7-9 and 1x 8-8. The Cutler injury in the 2010 playoffs, the injury after starting 7-3 in 2011, missing the playoffs after going 10-6 in 2012... what could have been man.
Then Trestman goes 8-8 before going to hell, Fox begins a long rebuild, Nagy manages 0.523 despite being ridiclous and here we are.

Look at the Chiefs pre Reid, let's hope that's where we are.

Hell, look at the Rams post Vermeil, five years of all fur coat and no knickers with Martz, then woof, 6, 8, 3, 2, 1, 7, 2, 7, 7, 6, 7 and 4 win seasons before McVay turns them around.

We're more like the Falcons than we are the Browns or Lions.

[Arkansasbear]

Eeehh, unpopular opinion here but the whole thing is overblown. If you look back at the past 20 years you have:

Tail end of Jauron (and things were shit for a while before then admittedly!).
9 years of Lovie, 0.563 overall, 5 winning seasons, a Super Bowl appearance and another conference championship appearance. Only 3 times in the playoffs was disappointing overall but it was still a good era, especially considering that after his first season (5-11) the three worst of the period were 2x 7-9 and 1x 8-8. The Cutler injury in the 2010 playoffs, the injury after starting 7-3 in 2011, missing the playoffs after going 10-6 in 2012... what could have been man.
Then Trestman goes 8-8 before going to hell, Fox begins a long rebuild, Nagy manages 0.523 despite being ridiclous and here we are.

Look at the Chiefs pre Reid, let's hope that's where we are.

Hell, look at the Rams post Vermeil, five years of all fur coat and no knickers with Martz, then woof, 6, 8, 3, 2, 1, 7, 2, 7, 7, 6, 7 and 4 win seasons before McVay turns them around.

We're more like the Falcons than we are the Browns or Lions.

I agree we aren't the laughing stock of the NFL, we seem to constantly be stuck at the best of the worst or the worst of the best. I think that's one of the worst spots to be in. If you are truly bad, you may get a run of 3-4 years with top 5 or at least top 10 picks. That should net you talent to be able to maybe climb out (I think that's were Jax is right now - on the way out). We consistently are picking outside the top 10 with the occasional top 5 pick. We don't get in a spot to land truly elite talent and the few times we do, we blow it with Kevin White and Mitch Trubisky. I want Vic Beasley or Marcus Peters when we took White and Malhomes when when went with Trubisky.

[PaulM]

If you are truly bad, you may get a run of 3-4 years with top 5 or at least top 10 picks. That should net you talent to be able to maybe climb out (I think that's were Jax is right now - on the way out).

IMO thats an usual superstition: Having better picks means more success...
While New England broke all records with a #199 Pick called Brady!
The difference is: NE had a new idea of Football and the bears have none!
And Brady was "only" the perfect executor.
The Bears very often looks like nonsensical thrown together (But for me not under Pace).
Always hoping a new QB will save the franchise.
And the bears wasted many good QBs.
The case Brady shows that the criteria of being a #2 Pick (Trubisky) could be wrong or ineffective.
There are much more criteria and qualities of a player, else Brady could not be the GOAT!
But to find out this qualities you need just the idea or another approach.
Im sure the Bears roster is good enough to win a SB and more.

If there s a way to success, find it! But are the bears on a search of it?
Or is it only Hire and fire/ trial and error?
This is the most stupid strategy in the world and everyone could do that

[Grizzled]

Just coincidental but the Michael McCaskey fired Jerry Vanisi as GM after the 1986 season and a 2 year record of 32-4 for philosophical reasons. I guess Jerry believed in winning and that was contra to McCaskey philosophies.

[UOK]

I'd take the McCaskeys before Jerry Jones, Dan Snyder, Jimmy Haslem, and Dean Spanos, easily.

The McCaskeys are dopes, but better them than somebody who is downright despicable.

Also this article is from this past January, so it's kind of weird to dwell on the pre-Poles/Eberflus era, even if it's not far removed.

[Otis Day]

Lived through all the shit, no need to read about it and get reminded of all the bad moves.

[Mikefive]

When the team screws up, everybody thinks it's OK to blame the head coach, because he picks the players and assistants and thus is ultimately responsible.

But in the Bears case, when the GMs and head coaches are failures, there's a certain segment of fandom that says the McCaskeys aren't to blame or ultimately responsible. That's a real baffler to me.

[dplank]

I'd take the McCaskeys before Jerry Jones, Dan Snyder, Jimmy Haslem, and Dean Spanos, easily.

The McCaskeys are dopes, but better them than somebody who is downright despicable.

Also this article is from this past January, so it's kind of weird to dwell on the pre-Poles/Eberflus era, even if it's not far removed.

You can add Joel Osteen, errrrr, Robert McNair to that list IMO

[Moriarty]

I'd take the McCaskeys before Jerry Jones, Dan Snyder, Jimmy Haslem, and Dean Spanos, easily.

The McCaskeys are dopes, but better them than somebody who is downright despicable.

Also this article is from this past January, so it's kind of weird to dwell on the pre-Poles/Eberflus era, even if it's not far removed.

Yes, fwiw, it could be worse.

The McCaskeys (at least the older, known ones) seem to be generally genuinely good people.
Just not very good at the thing they are famous for.

[Moriarty]

Just coincidental but the Michael McCaskey fired Jerry Vanisi as GM after the 1986 season and a 2 year record of 32-4 for philosophical reasons. I guess Jerry believed in winning and that was contra to McCaskey philosophies.

Seriously speaking - I suspect his alliance with Ditka, who the McCaskeys really didn't like, had a lot to do with that. Second guess would be something having to do with the 85
holdouts (Harris & Bell) and differing philosophies on that.

[The Cooler King]

When the team screws up, everybody thinks it's OK to blame the head coach, because he picks the players and assistants and thus is ultimately responsible.

But in the Bears case, when the GMs and head coaches are failures, there's a certain segment of fandom that says the McCaskeys aren't to blame or ultimately responsible. That's a real baffler to me.

Eh the owner relationship is just weird.

Fans who wants to voice their displeasure over a crappy GM/coach/team product can make their voice or pocket books heard to ownership.

Forcing a ownership change. Not very easy comparatively. You're left hoping they luck into the right leader and then get the hell out of the way. Ultimately almost no one chose their sports teams cuz of the owner. Most are utterly replaceable, so unless you wanna decide fandom on ownership shopping.. It just kind of is what it is to me.

[UOK]

Spiegel and Holmes mentioned today that they are hearing whispers of the locker room being in a “pre-mutiny” phase.

The Stevenson thing is well documented by now, and there’s this:



What the hell is going on at Halas hall?

[Moriarty]

What the hell is going on at Halas hall?

The players can see the same dumbness some of us can, and they hate it, just like some of us do.

[wab]

If he loses the locker room he’s clearly gotta go. There’s no question. But winning cures ills as they say.

[HisRoyalSweetness]

Emotions are raw. Let's see how they respond on Sunday.

[Grizzled]

Not good when issues like this are made public. It indicates a high level of dissatisfaction. A win does wonders to resolve issues.

[Z Bear]

He has lost the fans, the players and sure to follow!

[Ditka’s dictaphone]

He’s safe until the end of the season because #Bears.

Only question is will Poles have the cojones to do it or does Warren have to kick them both out?

[malk]

If he loses the locker room he’s clearly gotta go. There’s no question. But winning cures ills as they say.

https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/s/zsezkn6W2n

[HurricaneBear]

He’s safe until the end of the season because #Bears.

Only question is will Poles have the cojones to do it or does Warren have to kick them both out?

He reminded me of the defensive Marc trestman when we hired him. Hopefully this GM doesn't make the same mistake trestmans did

[Rusty Trombagent]

What the hell is going on at Halas hall?

The players can see the same dumbness some of us can, and they hate it, just like some of us do.

i actually love the dumbness, tyvm

[Teddy KGB]

Pay attention guys - Flus is done. He will be gone at the end of the year.

And as soon as these rumblings happened - suddenly Albert Breer drops a nugget that Ben Johnson really wanted the Bears job last season if it became available?

Ben Johnson is going to be our coach next year .....

[Bearfacts]

Whether or not he's losing the locker room may be a matter for debate but he's surely losing the trust of the fan base who must realize we simply cannot win close games against good teams. I posted this in another forum in a thread I began so to save time I'll just copy and paste it here. It's my own copyrighted material.....LOL.

This is my thread or at least one I began. So I feel obligated to comment. Following the fourth loss in the 4th quarter of a game we had so seemingly sewed up that like the other three the odds of us winning exceeded 90% we still found a way to lose. Or should I say Flus found a way to lose it.

I realize he's not the one who failed to cover the open man in the end zone but it's another in a long list of details we seem to miss each time something like this happens. What we can hold him accountable for as the defensive playcaller is coverage that allowed DC to even get into a position where a Hail Mary was possible. We can also hold him accountable for sending a three man rush against a very mobile QB with the arm to make the throw he did. How long did he have before he launched it? I think I read nearly 13 seconds!!!

That's sick and as much as anything it why we lost on the very last play of the game. There's another to hold accountable as well. It's Shane Waldron's record in Seattle coming off a bye week that caused me to suggest to my roommie brother that he take DC and the points against the Bears. He won his bet and thanked me for my insight. True, Waldron didn't miss on so many passes but he did decide to get cute and use a PS level OL on a goal line play that resulted in a turnover. How many facepalms does that get?

Now bringing this back around to Flus as HC he actually defended this call. Why? Because he said they'd practiced it. This seems to be at the root of his problems as a HC. Just because you've practiced something and it may have worked in practice doesn't mean it's a good strategy with the game on the line. Did they practice a 3 man rush against Tyson Bagent all week giving him 13 seconds to unleash a Hail Mary four Bears defenders weren't able to defend? I dunno but no doubt he'd say so if they did.

The bottom line, as hesitant as I am to admit it, is that Flus is not and never will be a consistent winner as a game day coach or even as a HC. Much like Vic Fangio he's a great defensive coach/coordinator but he's not the guy you want with the play call sheets in his hand pulling the trigger on Sunday, Monday, Thursday night, or Saturdays later in the season. We moved on from Justin Fields not because he sucked but because he was not good enough to win big with. The same can be said for Matt Eberflus. He's not "The One".

This is the third season of his four year contract. Few NFL coaches enter the final year of there deals without an extension and much like with Fields there is no way Ryan Poles should be able to justify an extension for a HC who makes the mistakes and gets out coached by good teams as often as Flus does. Fortunately in Eric Washington and a vet defensive staff we have the DC and others we need to keep a top ten defense. Extend them so we can keep them in place but let Flus and Waldron go.

2025 is the time to hire an offensive minded HC and staff who can continue to elevate CW and the offense to the point where they're able to score 30 points a game against even good to great defenses more often than not. Sunday was the 13th time our defense has held an opponent to 21 points or less and we still lost the game because our offense was pitiful......again. It was pitiful against two more good defenses so far and we haven't even played any NFCN games yet. What are our chances of going 3-3 against them?

It's never been a good idea to draft a QB without a stable HC or offensive staff yet once again we did it. Luckily CW is a guy who will take far more than a coaching change in year two to break. So Ryan Poles, if you're listening. This old time Bears fan and millions of other have seen the writing on the wall as far as Matt Eberflus is concerned. He does not win often enough against tougher competition. That's all we need to know and all you should need to know. He needs to be replaced. Find another Matt like the one named LaFleur. CW, the offense, and the entire hard working but still somehow failing to win big ones defense will thank you.

[dplank]

We moved on from Justin Fields not because he sucked but because he was not good enough to win big with. The same can be said for Matt Eberflus. He's not "The One".

This right here is the key point. If you wanted to move on from Fields because he wasn't a SB caliber QB even though he was 5-2 down the stretch last year, I don't see how you can defend Flus because we're 4-3 now. We've only beaten bad teams. You're either striving for SB / greatness or you aren't, that applies at GM, HC, QB - and the weak link right now IMO is HC.

He's going to need to go at least 3-3, maybe 4-2 in the NFCN for me to want to keep him around next season.

[o-pus #40 in B major]

I am through with Eberflus.

I think it's probably best to wait until the end of the season when there will be more options available.

Poles needs to get a proven OC for the Bears HC and please don't change the D to a new scheme.