Getty Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles.
The Chicago Bears fanbase appears to have turned on head coach Matt Eberflus, though general manager Ryan Poles may not feel the same way.
On the Thursday, November 7 edition of “The Sick Podcast With Adam Rank: Chicago Bears,” the host said that sources inside the league indicated to him that Eberflus isn’t going anywhere, no matter how the rest of the 2024 season plays out.
“I will say … that Matt Eberflus actually has a five-year contract and that he might be more locked in,” Rank said. “I talked to some people within NFL circles, people who are close to Ryan Poles, and they indicated to me that regardless of what happens … Matt Eberflus is coming back.”
Eberflus is currently 4-4 as the head coach of the Bears this season and has a record of 14-28 over his two and a half years at the helm in the Windy City.
Matt Eberflus Likely Gets Another Season With Caleb Williams in Chicago
GettyQuarterback Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears.
Part of Poles’ logic to keeping Eberflus in 2025, at least per Rank’s reporting, is that the GM isn’t interested in a repeat performance of what happened with former starting quarterback Justin Fields when Poles initially hired Eberflus.
Fields was a holdover from the previous regime, selected N0. 11 overall in the 2021 draft by former general manager Ryan Pace and former head coach Matt Nagy. Chicago had just spent its first-round pick, and a high one at that, on a rookie QB the year before the franchise hired Poles as GM, and he hired Eberflus (a defensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts) as head coach.
The team didn’t, and really couldn’t, part with Fields at that point. However, the decision makers inherited him and shipped him to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a conditional sixth-round pick just about as soon as they realized they could pick up Caleb Williams No. 1 overall in the 2024 draft.
According to Rank, Poles wants to give Eberflus a real shot with this roster, and continuity counts for something in professional sports — particularly the NFL.
Matt Eberflus Can Make Strong Case to Remain With Bears Over Tough Stretch of Schedule
GettyHead coach Matt Eberflus of the Chicago Bears.
Now two and a half years into the rebuild, Chicago has put together what has proven to be a pretty stalwart defensive unit. The team also has skill position talent all around its rookie QB, much of it under contract for multiple years to come.
The offensive line has battled injuries and hasn’t been great when healthy. However, improving that unit and giving the team a year to mature and create continuity could put the Bears in an enviable position heading into 2025.
Chicago is one Washington Commanders‘ Hail Mary away from a 5-3 record with the New England Patriots at Soldier Field on Sunday. The back half of the schedule is a nightmare of quality opponents, so the likelihood is that the Bears finish the season with a losing record.
That, however, may not matter in terms of Eberflus’ job security — at least not heading into 2025. A poor start or a bad finish to the season could spell his end in Chicago, but there’s a lot of football to be played between then and now.
