Matt Eberflus May Have Inherited Another Legacy From Lovie Smith

One of the reasons GM Ryan Poles hired Matt Eberflus was he embodied many of the great qualities former Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith had. He's calm under pressure, coaches players to a high standard, and runs an intense, effort-based defense based on forcing turnovers. All those things helped make the Bears a competitive team in the mid-2000s and early 2010s—many fans long for those days again. However, early signs indicate Eberflus may have inherited another trait from Smith.

That is an inability to hire a competent offensive coordinator.

Luke Getsy is under lots of fire to start the 2023 season. His offense looked unprepared and outmatched by the Green Bay Packers. This is a continuation of last year. Chicago has now failed to score more than 20 points in seven straight games. People are starting to wonder if Getsy is out of his depth. How much of it is his scheming, and how much is it his quarterback struggling? Smith had the same problem during his run in Chicago. From 2004 to 2012, the former Bears head coach employed four different offensive coordinators.

• Terry Shea
• Ron Turner
• Mike Martz
• Mike Tice

Matt Eberflus could face a tough decision in the near future.

He's remained firmly behind Getsy since the two came together last year. One game isn't going to change that. However, if the offense continues to flounder like it did last Sunday, he will come under a ton of pressure to make changes to the staff. Smith fired Shea after only one season. Turner survived five seasons, but none of his offenses were ever in the top 10. Martz had some successes but a rocky relationship with Jay Cutler. Tice was a fiasco. Smith just never seemed able to find the right guy to get the most from his players.

That is the kind of pressure Matt Eberflus is now under. If the offense falters again this season, he will have a decision to make. Either he stays the course with Getsy, hoping continuity and maybe a quarterback change can get things going. Or he searches for a new offensive coordinator. Eberflus has 16 games to figure this out. He and Getsy have shown they can make adjustments in the past. Maybe they'll revert back to what they did midway through last season, working to get Fields on the move more.

Something must be done.