Lack of accountability is why Matt Eberflus ultimately had to be fired

I’ve been around Windy City Gridiron since 2010. And, I’ve been a Chicago Bears fan for even longer, since the fabled “Walter Payton Game” of 1999. I’ve seen it all, between hideous play at quarterback and absolute failures across all levels of their organization.

What we have all witnessed these past two and a half years with Matt Eberflus is an all-time worst display of ineptitude and poor leadership.

A brief background about myself for the uninitiated. I’ve served a total of 12 years between active duty and reserve in the United States Navy, originally enlisting in 2012 before commissioning in 2023. I’ve also had experience as a football coaching assistant at both the high school and collegiate levels. Then, of course, there were a few other supervisory / management positions at various businesses. I use these experiences when diagnosing cases like these.

I’m usually the cheery, miners’ canary sort of fellow sports fan who does everything they can to prop up the personnel and situation for all things Bears-related. I even was okay with the original hire of Matt Eberflus back in 2022. A hire that felt a bit too much like an arranged marriage than a credible process-driven decision. But I digress.

There will never be a time when I say I’m the expert on anything. And, in all seriousness, that selfish act of declaring one’s self as an “expert” is the very first mistake most people in leadership will make. One who claims to know everything, is one who knows nothing. There will always be something to learn and reasons to adapt.

This quest for being “perfect” or “all-knowing” is an idiot’s game. That, truly, is where I kick off my assessment of Matt Eberflus. A coach who was absolutely stuck in their ways as their H.I.T.S. philosophy turned into something else you can spell with those same letters.

Far too many times did we hear “execution” or “communication” for the players being a cause of some of the most notorious moments in recent football history. The blocked FG against the Packers. The blocked FG and uber-soft coverage against the Vikings. The fail marry at Washington. The losses to the Broncos, Lions, and Browns last year. And so many decisions in between.

The final failure in the 17th head coach of the Bears’ career was not calling a timeout while the final 30 seconds were running off the clock at Detroit. Caleb Williams, for the 3rd consecutive game, drove the Bears’ offense down the field for game-tying or winning position within the final minute of regulation. One whole timeout was still in Matt Eberflus’ pocket. It was a very simple scenario even the most novice of coaches can figure out.

Call the timeout. Run one more quick-hitting play to gain a few more yards. Spike the ball. Kick the field goal. And that was all after two hideous penalties and one sack moved the Bears backwards after getting on the doorstep for a walk-off touchdown.

Yet Matt Eberflus froze. He gawked at the field as those final seconds went all the way down to 0.06 on the game clock. This was while Caleb Williams was attempting to change the play after realizing there would be not enough time to clock the ball and set up the field goal. Matt Eberflus had all the power to prevent this incident from happening.

He chose not to do anything. When asked earlier today before news broke of his firing, Matt Eberflus stood on his business and mentioned he would gladly do this all over again. In the latest, “it’s on the players and not me,” kind of statement we’ve grown to accustomed to witnessing in Chicago. A complete lack of accountability by the head ball coach.

“Oh, I didn’t make the wrong decision.” A stance once shared by other head coaches in Hue Jackson, Josh McDaniels, and Matt Patricia. The all-too-familiar position of blaming the players for not executing a bad play instead of acknowledging said call as a mistake in the first place.

The fans were tired of it, the media was tired of it, and the players were tired of it. Moments after the game, several notable veterans had their own thoughts on the game’s conclusion. Here’s a ringer from Keenan Allen.

DJ Moore also didn’t know why Matt Eberflus didn’t call a timeout.

And there’s Kyler Gordon opting to give a strategic non-answer in an effort to avoid drama.

I do not think the locker room grew as toxic as what we all witnessed in 2014 under Marc Trestman. The entire Robbie Gould vs. Brandon Marshall exchange lives rent-free in my mind. But it was getting close.

When your own personnel are actively disagreeing with you in the open, you’ve got a problem. That is a sign they’re no longer aligned with your philosophies and, in their minds, are beginning to move on without you. Disagreements, in general, are not always a bad thing to have so long as they’re professional. But for a universal theme of players calling you out for making the wrong decision? Woof.

We can go over a sickening slate of bad decisions made by Matt Eberflus throughout the years. The initial coaching staff hirings, the eventual firings after other-than-football reasons were offered for several assistants terminated in 2023, the inability to win at least 20 games in three years, and the consistent failures late in games despite holding several advantages spelled doom. Yet losing the locker room is the biggest reason for this historic firing.

That history is not an understatement. In the Bears’ 100+ year history of existence, they’ve never fired a sitting head coach. For context, Shane Waldron was the first offensive coordinator fired in-season after 70 years for Chicago. Matt Eberflus is now the first head coach to meet that fate in the Windy City. A well-deserved firing.

One more item I found to be priceless by Matt Eberflus. When discussing the promotion for Thomas Brown, he went out of his way to make everyone understand he was the recruiter of Thomas Brown in the first place. Yes, he most certainly did… after interviewing Thomas Brown for the vacant OC position once filled by Luke Getsy. Only to then hire Shane Waldron — who admittedly looked like a solid hire on paper — and eventually land Thomas Brown as his passing game coordinator. So, just as you planned, right?

Yeah, sure, bud. Whatever helps you cope with your mistakes at night.

The offense did have a bit of a spark following the switch to Thomas Brown. There has been buy-in from the players in Thomas. That is, most likely, why he was named the interim head coach following Matt Eberflus’ dismissal. It’s the kind of buy-in that Matt Eberflus had lost from his players since coming out of the bye week.

Just look at the field for evidence: undisciplined mistakes in coverage, questionable effort at times rallying to the ball carrier, not completing big plays that can make a difference, and a lack of focus team-wide in critical moments. All of these are contrary to what the so-called H.I.T.S. principle was supposed to correct in the first place.

The team will always be a reflection of the coaching staff. Even with the good stock of talent — and there’s plenty of talent on this team — they’re sitting at 4-8. All after entering the bye at 4-2. Including an 0-3 start to their inter-divisional play this season within the NFC North. There were no signs of Matt Eberflus being willing to adjust his overall strategies during his latest 6-game skid. And the players were done with him.

What happens from now until the end of the season remains a mystery. But the Bears absolutely had to fire Matt Ebeflus. There were zero reasons to keep him outside of possible financial considerations remaining on his contract. Accountability has been a longstanding issue at Halas Hall.

Now is the time to break the damn cycle. This historic firing was, perhaps, the first true step toward that new path for redemption. Even if it leads to eventual dismissals for everyone else.