Team social medias usually stick to straightforward content. They post highlight videos, injury updates, locker room and press conference interviews, and your occasional well-wishes. It was this way under Lovie Smith, Marc Trestman, John Fox, Matt Nagy, and Matt Eberflus. They are not prone to taking subtle digs at other people. Yet, recent evidence suggests that whoever runs the Chicago Bears' Twitter platform (X) might be taking things into uncharted territory. The first indication came earlier this week. James Odunze, father of Rome, drew lots of attention for reposting a tweet calling on the Bears to trade his son because they weren't throwing him the ball enough. The Bears' social media then posted a video of Odunze from the Bengals game with a single word.
"Selfless."
Anybody with half a brain could see it was a rebuttal to Odunze's statement. Well, it is possible things escalated this Sunday. The Bears pulled off another wild comeback, this time overcoming a 20-10 deficit in the 4th quarter to win 24-20. True to form, the video of Ben Johnson's locker room speech came out soon after. That in itself wasn't anything significant. However, once again, the words used in the post felt as though they were chosen purposely.
The Bears almost seemed to take a shot at Matt Eberflus.
For those who don't remember, the former head coach often preached his core philosophy of hustle, intensity, turnovers, and smarts. Otherwise known as H.I.T.S. He felt this approach was foolproof, destined to make the Bears a better football team. Instead, he won 14 games before getting fired after last Thanksgiving. Sources have said Matt Eberflus was deeply unpopular in the locker room. He had a reputation for talking down to players, mistreating staff, and never taking accountability for anything that went wrong. Lots of people didn't like him. It wasn't just those in the locker room.
Seeing Johnson get his sixth win of the season, already eclipsing the mark it took Eberflus a season and a half to reach, was a clear indication that the Bears have upgraded. This is what a head coach is supposed to look like. That post felt like a jab they've been waiting months to throw.
