Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus seems to have been forgiven for all the mistakes that have happened to his team in his first two seasons in the job.
Indeed, in Eberflus’ first season, the Bears were designed to be a bad team as Ryan Pauls tried to improve the team’s salary cap situation. Still, Eberflus’ first season as the Bears’ head coach in 2023 was one of the worst seasons in franchise history. In 2024, Eberflus and the Bears improved by four games, but the team lost three games in which they were leading by two possessions in the fourth quarter, and the head coach fired two assistants for personnel-related issues.
So it came as a surprise when the Bears opted to retain Eberflus for the 2024 season despite having several prominent coaching positions on the market, including Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Mike Vrabel and Bill Belichick.
Despite that surprise, the conversation surrounding Eberflus appears to be shifting as the Bears’ roster improves — in fact, as Pro Football Talk points out, Eberflus is now the favorite to win the NFL Coach of the Year award next season.
It goes without saying that Eberflus will be a candidate for Coach of the Year if the Bears make the playoffs in 2024. It’s not often that a coach who is rumored to be fired wins the league’s Coach of the Year award the following season while still with the same team.
However, the Pro Football Talk article also noted that Eberflus would be fired if the Bears fail to make the playoffs in 2024.
This doesn’t line up with what Pauls said at the end of the season or the moves the Bears made this offseason. If there was any doubt about Eberflus’ status after the 2024 season, this offseason would have been the season to fire him. Instead, the Bears kept him and made him a comfortable pair with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. If the Bears miss the playoffs, there is a path for Eberflus to remain the Bears’ head coach after the 2024 season. What is unclear for Eberflus is if the Bears’ footing falls apart next season, but if that happens, it is likely that a new head coach will be in place from next year onwards.
