After the Chicago Bears suffered a humiliating Hail Mary defeat to the Washington Commanders on Sunday, head coach Matt Eberflus did NOT take the high road.
Even when it was clear that his young, ascending team gutted out a win with grit and sandpaper only for Eberflus’ questionable late-game coaching decisions to throw it all away, the third-year coach instead blamed Bears players for their “execution.” A day later, Eberflus doubled down like a true football doofus while effectively watching several Bears leaders like tight end Cole Kmet criticize a complacent culture or, in Jaylon Johnson’s case, refuse to blame anyone.
On Wednesday, as the Bears began their preparations for the Arizona Cardinals, Eberflus finally did it. He finally admitted that he royally screwed up and threw away a win his team fought so hard for.
Hmm, the timing is a little curious, don’t you think?
Bears head coach Matt Eberflus on reviewing the Washington loss: "The game didn't finish the way we wanted it to, and it starts with me."
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) October 30, 2024
In case you really think that Eberflus has turned a corner after acknowledging he let his players down for the fourth time over the last two seasons where they had a 90-plus percent win expectancy in the final moments, I’m here to pour a bucket of cold water on any such suggestion.
First and foremost, if Eberflus had been sincere about having his players’ backs, he would’ve taken responsibility for his glaring absence of leadership right away after the Commanders loss. There would’ve been no hesitation. He would’ve fallen on his sword, and while there’d still be criticism, he’d at least have the respect of taking accountability like a highly paid professional adult.
Instead, Eberflus undoubtedly saw Kmet, Johnson, scapegoat Tyrique Stevenson, and D.J. Moore all question late-game decisions by the Bears coaching staff in public and decided he needed to do cowardly damage control. For that reason, he does not get credit for admitting the obvious days later as the Bears become a national punchline again.
The other key point here is that Eberflus’ late-game blunders were so glaring that they turned the heat up on his coaching seat. Eberflus is just 3-17 on the road during his Bears coaching career. He has never won a road game on a Sunday. Chicago, with a talented roster led by Caleb Williams, is in win-now mode. And anything short of a Bears playoff berth and a decent showing in the said postseason will almost certainly mean that Eberflus loses his job this winter.
How do I know this?
MMQB’s Albert Breer was on Chicago’s ESPN radio affiliate the morning after the Bears’ devastating loss, floating the possibility of Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson perhaps coaching the Bears soon. Should Johnson choose to leave Detroit, he will easily be the most sought-after head coaching candidate in this upcoming hiring cycle.
While this is just speculation, it’s no coincidence that someone fed this information to Breer (Bears general manager Ryan Poles, perhaps?) right after Eberflus pushed all the wrong buttons in front of the entire football-watching country:
Albert Breer says Lions OC Ben Johnson had his eye on the Bears last offseason.
pic.twitter.com/MoH9K2OcXi— BOOG (@BoogCB) October 29, 2024
So, you tell me.
Did Eberflus’ heart grow three sizes on Wednesday? Or did he realize he’s gotta do some brazen, bare minimum troubleshooting to keep his Bears’ ship from completely sinking before they inevitably go 8-9 and he loses his job?
For my money, this Eberflus mea culpa is too little, too late. And he likely knows it, too.
