Matt Eberflus turned the primary Bears head coach in franchise historical past to get canned in-season. Contemplating the lengthy record of questionable calls and demoralizing losses, the transfer didn’t come as a whole shock…particularly to these within the constructing.
According to Adam Jahns and Dianna Russini of The Athletic, gamers had been particularly “livid” following Chicago’s loss on Thursday. Many gamers questioned Eberflus’s resolution to not name a timeout earlier than the final play, with crew captain Jaylon Johnson described as particularly “emotional.”
“We felt as gamers it’s been too many cases the place we fought our approach again into video games to lose due to dangerous time administration and decision-making,” one participant advised The Athletic.
One staffer famous that the post-game locker room “was ugly” and featured “numerous yelling.” Whereas Eberflus tried calming down his squad with a speech, he didn’t dangle round, and his gamers continued to fume. Eberflus’s uncharacteristic exit from the locker room may have additionally been because of the presence of crew president Kevin Warren, who notably hung across the crew for much longer than common following the Thanksgiving debacle.
The locker room outburst seemed to be coming for a very long time. As The Athletic notes, Ebereflus’s current makes an attempt to take accountability for the crew’s mounting losses appeared “insincere” and countered his differing tone from earlier within the season. Whereas the now-former HC tried saving face by firing offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, many within the locker room believed Waldron wasn’t the proper alternative.
Particularly, the offensive coordinator put in a “pure development passing system,” an idea troublesome for any QB. With Caleb Williams main the best way below heart, some gamers voiced considerations that the employees wasn’t placing the rookie able to succeed. It additionally went past the passing offense; Waldron scrapped “two years of progress below offensive line coach Chris Morgan” by fully revamping the crew’s operating assault.
“The place they tousled was with Shane and making him the coordinator to start with,” one participant advised The Athletic.
Chicago had a 4-2 document heading into the bye week, and the crew’s demise was a collective effort. Nonetheless, Eberflus was going to be the clear scapegoat. Curiously, Eberflus met with the media hours earlier than his firing. The Athletic notes that Morgan, chairman George McCaskey, and GM Ryan Poles had been nonetheless assembly throughout that scheduled press convention, and the trio didn’t need to sign that “one thing massive was taking place” by canceling Eberflus’s presser.
If there’s any silver lining, there appears to be rising optimism surrounding interim head coach Thomas Brown. The crew’s former passing recreation coordinator was promoted to OC following Waldron’s firing. The Athletic notes that the coach’s “communication fashion and management expertise earned the respect of gamers and employees.”
