It might be only three games into the season, but the red alert klaxons are already sounding. This Chicago Bears team has spiraled down a hole for the past calendar year. It started with a 49-29 loss in Dallas last October and has continued for 13 straight games. They are in danger of going 12 full months without a victory. This would set a franchise record for futility no one thought possible. So it's not hard to understand why the job statuses of head coach Matt Eberflus and quarterback Justin Fields are being questioned.
Fields is 5-22 as a starter. He's nowhere close to averaging 200 yards passing per game in his career and has 26 touchdowns to 24 interceptions. A quarterback should not look this indecisive by his third season in the NFL. As for Eberflus, he's 3-17 through his first 20 games as a head coach. The offense still can't score with any regularity, and the defense, his supposed expertise, ranks near the bottom of the league. Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog, noted for his strong sources around the team, provided a telling update on their situations.
It sounds like their fates are already decided.
"Thought #2. The fates of Matt Eberflus and Justin Fields are most certainly sorted. But what of the GM? The Bears must consider a full organizational reset, establishing their entire leadership (GM, coach, QB) on a singular timeline. I don’t believe Ryan Poles is a bad talent evaluator, but I certainly don’t believe he’s displayed any particular mastery of it either. And with the aforementioned picks, and the weight that comes with them, are the Bears comfortable with Poles mapping out their future?"
Justin Fields and Matt Eberflus are on borrowed time.
The problem for both is they have nothing to fall back on as arguments for staying. Fields isn't threatening defenses with his legs anymore. He's either consciously choosing not to run as often, or opponents have figured out how to contain him. As for Eberflus, the team isn't performing well in any capacity. They're committing too many penalties, turning the ball over, not forcing takeaways, and not getting to the quarterback. Every phase is underperforming, and this roster is more talented than the one from last year.
It is obvious both are more likely to find themselves out of work by next January at this rate. Justin Fields will join the long list of QBs that failed to make it in Chicago. Eberflus may go down as the least successful head coach of the Super Bowl era. The only question left is Ryan Poles. He's conducted the rebuild with a smart process thus far, but the problem is none of his big decisions are clear hits. His trade acquisition of Chase Claypool looks like a colossal failure. He hired Eberflus, which is a bad look. Top free agent signing Nate Davis has only played one game and looked terrible.
Not many things have gone right for him. It's possible new team president Kevin Warren may push for a full reboot this off-season.
