The Chicago Bears will transfer into the 2024 season with Matt Eberflus as their coach, a supply confirmed to the Tribune on Wednesday.
However, Eberflus will probably be in the hunt for new offensive assistants after the workforce fired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko, vast receivers coach Tyke Tolbert, operating backs coach Omar Young and assistant tight ends coach Tim Zetts, the supply stated.
The resolution to offer Eberflus a 3rd season in his first stint as an NFL head coach comes after he helped the Bears make strides, notably on protection, following a disastrous first 4 weeks. The Bears misplaced to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at Lambeau Field to complete the 2023 season 7-10 however greater than doubled their three-win complete from 2022.
Their end earlier than Sunday’s loss, together with a robust locker room, doubtless helped persuade normal supervisor Ryan Poles to maneuver ahead with Eberflus. The Bears face a number of different selections within the weeks and months forward, together with what to do with their offensive teaching workers, quarterback Justin Fields and the No. 1 draft choose.
Eberflus doubtless additionally will probably be looking for a brand new defensive coordinator after he didn’t substitute Alan Williams midseason. Special groups coordinator Richard Hightower is predicted to remain on the workers.
The Bears set a franchise file with 14 losses throughout Eberflus’ first season in 2022, however he wasn’t in peril of shedding his job then because the workforce was rebuilding its roster. A ten-game shedding streak to finish the 2022 season was a 14-game streak when the Bears began this season 0-4. That begin, together with a number of off-field points, known as into query Eberflus’ job standing.
After Poles’ declaration that he wished the Bears to “take the (NFC) North and never give it back,” the Bears misplaced their first 9 division video games underneath Eberflus and are 2-10 within the NFC North by way of his two seasons. That included blowing a 12-point, fourth-quarter result in lose to the Detroit Lions in Week 11.
It was the workforce’s second main late meltdown this season after a 21-point collapse in a loss to the Denver Broncos. The Bears had a 3rd double-digit collapse in a loss to the Cleveland Browns on Dec. 17.
But the Bears additionally engineered a turnaround in November and December, successful 5 of seven video games getting into Sunday’s loss to the Packers. That included back-to-back NFC North wins towards the Minnesota Vikings and Lions.
With Eberflus calling defensive performs and new defensive finish Montez Sweat, acquired in a midseason commerce, making performs, the Bears protection completed the season with 28 takeaways, together with a league-leading 22 interceptions. The Bears allowed simply 15.2 factors per recreation from Weeks 13-17.
Firing Getsy and Janocko comes after the Bears completed twentieth in complete offense with 323.2 yards per recreation in 2023, together with 182.1 passing yards per recreation (twenty seventh).
Eberflus employed Getsy to be his offensive coordinator in January 2022 after Getsy spent seven years in Green Bay, together with because the Packers quarterbacks coach and passing recreation coordinator for Aaron Rodgers.
Getsy by no means had known as performs within the NFL, and the Bears offense struggled within the first half of the 2022 season, although they did end with the highest dashing offense within the NFL that yr behind a franchise-record yr on the bottom from Fields.
But Fields was inconsistent within the passing recreation by way of his first season and a half underneath the regime earlier than dislocating his proper thumb Oct. 15 and lacking 4 video games.
Fields was higher after coming back from his harm Nov. 19, slicing down on sacks and turnovers whereas making enhancements within the passing recreation and his fourth-quarter play.
But that progress wasn’t obvious Sunday towards the Packers, who held the Bears and not using a landing. The Bears netted simply 192 yards, together with 148 passing yards from Fields, who was sacked 5 occasions.
“If it’s at 27, it’s not where it needs to be, right?” Eberflus stated of the passing recreation late final month. “It’s got to get the downfield, explosive throws. How you score in the NFL is to get explosive passes and explosive runs. That’s what you need to do.”
Now Poles and Eberflus will look to discover a new match with both Fields or a quarterback they draft.
Janocko joined the Bears after seven years with the Vikings, for whom he had served as quarterbacks coach for Kirk Cousins in 2021.
Tolbert, a 20-year NFL teaching veteran, oversaw a profession season from vast receiver DJ Moore in 2023. But Darnell Mooney’s manufacturing fell off sharply over the past two seasons, and except for Moore, no vast receiver had greater than 31 catches this yr.
Offensive line coach Chris Morgan and tight ends coach Jim Dray stay on the Bears workers.
Eberflus, 53, joined the Bears in January 2022 after 13 years as an NFL coordinator and assistant coach and 17 years as a university assistant. He was the Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator for 4 seasons earlier than Poles, a first-time GM, gave him his first head teaching shot, changing Matt Nagy.
The Bears interviewed at the very least 10 teaching candidates whereas concurrently interviewing GMs, after which Poles picked Eberflus from his teaching finalists, citing his expertise, ardour, character and a spotlight to element.
Eberflus launched his HITS precept — hustle, depth, takeaways (and avoiding turnovers on offense) and situational smarts — straight away and referred to it typically over his first season, although the outcomes didn’t present up till late in 2023.
Along with the on-field points, the Bears had a number of controversies off the sector in 2023. They had been secretive about Williams’ Week 3 resignation, which sources advised the Tribune was conduct-related. The Bears additionally fired operating backs coach David Walker on Nov. 1 for what the workforce stated was a failure to fulfill its normal for acceptable office conduct. Young took over for Walker after he was fired.
The Bears traded vast receiver Chase Claypool — initially anticipated to be one in every of Fields’ key targets this season — after benching him in Weeks 4 and 5 for not assembly workforce requirements on and off the sector. The approach Eberflus fumbled solutions to questions from reporters about such conditions didn’t at all times assist clean issues over publicly.
But the a number of controversies didn’t seem to fracture the locker room, and gamers continued to play onerous.
On the Bears pregame radio present Sunday, Poles complimented Eberflus’ capability to regular the workforce amid the drama.
“His ability to adapt and adjust, really take input from the players to get this thing on the right path was incredible, where I think a lot of people would have been in really bad shape and crumbled to the pressure,” Poles stated. “He got better with the pressure, and so did our football team.”
Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren stated at a charity occasion Friday that the workforce would take a “big-picture, methodical look” on the teaching state of affairs after the season. He famous that he favored the power with which the workforce was working regardless of having missed the playoffs for the third straight season.
“It’s not only on game day. It’s around the practices, around Halas Hall. Just the energy, you all see it in the locker room,” Warren stated. “Guys are enjoying onerous. They’re competing. And so we’ll frequently simply construct ahead as a franchise.
“But I’m just really energized as a franchise where we are, with what we have going on with the stadium, what we have going on internally, just building our brand, and what we have going on with our football team.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com