Coach Matt Eberflus saw what the rest of Chicago did: The Bears’ passing game wasn’t good enough.
On Wednesday, he did something about it by firing coordinator Luke Getsy, quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko and receivers coach Tyke Tolbert as part of an offensive purge that likely had the added bonus of saving his own job.
‘‘The growth and the development of the offense, to me, needed to be better than what it was,’’ Eberflus said. ‘‘To me, you look at the passing game, certainly that’s one aspect of it.’’
Where it is wasn’t good. Two games into the season, quarterback Justin Fields complained publicly that his coaching was making him play too robotic.
The Bears ran for more yards than any team in the NFL this season but finished in the bottom nine in the league in passing yards, completion percentage and passer rating. They scored 17 points or fewer in nine of 17 games.
That’s a low bar to clear for whomever the Bears hire as their next offensive coordinator. Trying to find one, however, will be complicated.
Why would a candidate with options come to Chicago for a potential one-and-done year with Eberflus facing a must-win season? The short answer: The Bears might draft a quarterback No. 1 overall. That’s bound to be more appealing than being asked to be the third coordinator to try to turn Fields into a consistent thrower.
General manager Ryan Poles wouldn’t assign blame for the Bears’ passing struggles, saying it was a ‘‘marriage’’ between Fields and his coaches. He did, however, sound more open to drafting Fields’ replacement than he did at this time last year.
The Bears plan to ask their coordinator candidates about how they would try to improve Fields’ game and also about how they would develop USC’s Caleb Williams, North Carolina’s Drake Maye and other top prospects.
Poles said he doesn’t see those as competing interests.
‘‘I love it,’’ he said. ‘‘What are you going to do for these . . . different types of quarterbacks? I want to hear that. And it’s really important to see the versatility and the adaptability in their teaching and the way they implement a plan, scheme, adjust.
‘‘I think it actually makes it pretty dynamic in terms of the interview process.’’
That’s one way to put it. The Bears need to be more forthcoming with their candidates about their plans at quarterback to find the right coordinator.
Eberflus will hire an offensive and defensive coordinator in the coming weeks, though he said he wants to call plays on defense next season and plans to keep all his defensive coaches in 2024.
Poles will join him in the interviews. Their relationship will make that easier than it was two years ago, when they scrambled to assemble a staff.
‘‘We were both getting in the door,’’ Poles said. ‘‘I think we’ll work hand-in-hand on this and have some really good conversations so that we make the best hire possible.’’
Some players grumbled about Getsy’s game plans. Receiver DJ Moore said after the Bears’ 17-9 loss Sunday to the Packers that they needed to decide whether they were ‘‘gonna be an explosive team or . . . a run team that’s gonna just play off the clock?’’
Eberflus said he thinks running the football well is essential in a cold-weather city and considers that important to a team’s identity. He wants to have a ‘‘multiple’’ offense — one that’s equally comfortable throwing as it is running — that can pivot from week to week and from quarter to quarter.
But he agreed the Bears need explosive plays.
‘‘You have to be able to have the innovation to really look at the players you have and be able to help enhance and put those guys in position to succeed,’’ Eberflus said. ‘‘And to get explosives and to move the ball down the field.’’
