Top candidate reportedly wants Matt Eberflus’ job

Matt Eberflus had one of the worst games of his coaching career last Sunday. The Chicago Bears played poorly for three quarters, despite having two weeks to prepare. Despite this, the team rallied in the 4th to make it a game. However, three brutal coaching decisions ultimately cost them. The first was the inexplicable decision to hand the ball off at the goal line to Doug Kramer, a back lineman, who was promptly fumbled. Then it played soft coverage on the play for the Hail Mary, giving Washington 13 yards to get them in range. Last but not least, the country refused to call a timeout despite clear evidence that the Bears were not meeting their responsibilities in defending the Hail Mary (i.e. Tyrique Stevenson).

Eberflus’ situational awareness was on full display, and it was ugly. This is the fifth time he has lost a lead with less than three minutes to play and the fourth time his defense has allowed a touchdown. The continued confusion and sloppiness in offending doesn’t help him either. Now that it appears the Bears finally have a quarterback in Caleb Williams, the calls for Eberflus’ job are growing louder. It probably won’t help his case that Ben Johnson, the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator and widely considered the top prospect for 2025, wants the Bears job.

MMQB’s Albert Breer confirmed this on ESPN 1000 with Kap & J.Hood.

“He was definitely looking at the Chicago job last year. There were people who felt this was the one he wanted. It obviously hasn’t opened.”

Matt Eberflus is running out of excuses.

This is year three. Anyone who follows the NFL knows that head coaches are supposed to win football games by now. At 4-3, Eberflus has done that to some extent. However, there are some serious underlying concerns. The Bears have taken advantage of a soft schedule to start the season. They are 0-2 against teams with winning records and 1-13 in Eberflus’ time as head coach. It doesn’t help that they are 3-17 on the road with zero road wins in Sunday games. No one disputes that the man can coach effort. The problem is that it takes a lot more to be a successful head coach.

Johnson has been the offensive coordinator in Detroit for three years. They were 4th overall in 2022, 3rd overall last year, and are 1st in scoring this season. Jared Goff is playing the best football of his life. Pairing Johnson with Williams feels like an obvious decision. His offensive expertise would almost certainly get things in order on that side of the ball, and he would also inherit a talented defense. His interest in Chicago is easy to understand. Matt Eberflus still has ten games to prevent that.