The hot seat just got hotter for Matt Eberflus |
Matt Eberflus has been the head coach since January 27, 2022, and was a sign of hope for the Chicago Bears' future.
Bears fans are still waiting for that hope after Sunday’s embarrassing loss to the Arizona Cardinals 29-9 at State Farm Stadium. A theme for the season so far has been how the Bears have allowed the opposing team to put points on the board first and then tried to fight their way back to get a victory. I am sure this is not the game plan drawn up during the week, but the proof is in the pudding, as they say. Fans have many reasons to be upset at the head coach, but none more frustrating than the Bears' road record under Matt Eberflus. Since Eberflus took over, the Bears have not won a Sunday road game. The Bears sometimes seem lost during games, players have called out the coaching in the past, and the team seems to have no faith in its head coach. General Manager Ryan Poles is not blameless in all of this, as he is the one who hired the coach, drafted and brought in talent, and lent his support to the head coach. Surely, the front office has seen how the team has performed and the emotional state of the team. We can look at the bright side of things and say that the Bears did win a road game as they beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 35-16 in London. However, the Bears were the designated home team, so how it counts is in the eye of the beholder. The Bears' rookie quarterback is extremely talented, but he has a major flaw right now: He holds the ball way too long, looking for the big play often found in college but less so in the NFL. The Bears stand at 4-4 and last in the NFC Central. The defense has been outcoached in the previous two games. The Hail Mary loss to the Washington Commanders, followed by the loss to the Arizona Cardinals, cannot be accepted at Halas Hall. This team is too talented to sit at 4-4, even with a rookie quarterback. Eberflus' strength is on the defensive side of the ball, but Arizona ran the ball at will. Eberflus has had a long enough leash to fix the mistakes that his teams have been making. The coach’s defense has not performed up to its capabilities, and the offense has been hit-or-miss throughout the season. The season is half over, and the Bears are sitting in last place. Something will have to change, or this season will be a lost cause. Will firing the head coach fix all that is wrong with the Bears? Most likely not, but it may be discussed this week. The fanbase deserves to support a winning Bears team, the monsters of the midway, but with Eberflus, the positive results have been minimal, which is why the hot seat has gotten hotter.
