GREEN BAY, Wis. — When the faded green scoreboard at Lambeau Field hit zero, the clock on the Bears’ offseason began. The Bears have the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft and a head coach whose future is uncertain. The verdict on the former won’t come for months, and even the latter could take days.
Asked whether he knew if he’d be retained for a third season after a 17-9 loss to the Packers on Sunday — the 10th straight the Bears have suffered to their rivals, who made the playoffs with the victory — Matt Eberflus said he wouldn’t meet with Bears ownership until later in the week.
He and general manager Ryan Poles planned to spend Monday doing what they did at this time last year — conducting exit interviews with every single player, for 10 minutes apiece, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“That’s how we’re going to improve the Chicago Bears going forward, getting feedback from the players,” he said. “Those are the ones that matter.”
When Eberflus meets with chairman George McCaskey and chairman Kevin Warren, he better have a more detailed plan for improving the team than player feedback. The big question is whether it involves keeping quarterback Justin Fields or using the Bears’ No. 1 overall draft pick, by way of the Panthers, to take USC star quarterback Caleb Williams.
Sunday’s loss was a snap back to reality for a team that, before the second quarter of the Packers game, had trailed for 32 seconds of game time since Week 13. Those who’d lobbied for the Bears to bring everyone back in 2024 — Poles, Eberflus, Fields and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy — couldn’t have felt the same after the Bears’ offense managed three field goals against a team that let the league-worst Panthers hang 30 on them two weeks ago.
After going 3-14 last year, the Bears finished 7-10 in Eberflus’ second year. After losing four in a row to start the season, the Bears finished 7-6. Touting those accomplishments while their rivals celebrated reaching the playoffs rang hollow.
Eberflus pointed to stability. For a team that has held four coaching searches in 11 years, that might be his strongest argument — inertia.
On Sunday, Eberflus fought his fate to a draw. The Bears weren’t blown out — though they were clearly outplayed — nor did they blow a late lead in the manner that so disturbed Halas Hall earlier this year.
“I do know this — that the foundation has been set, the standards are set how we operate,” Eberflus said. “I do know that. And I do know the locker room. I do know that for sure. And we’re standing on solid ground. Hard work, passion for the game and enthusiasm for the game, and we’re just going to keep working together to build this thing.”
Eberflus’ bosses did not give him a full-throated endorsement in their comments over the past week, vowing to take a comprehensive look at his program once the season ended. But both Warren and Poles praised the vibes at Halas Hall. Warren said Friday he was “pleased with the energy of the team,” while Poles used the team’s official ESPN 1000 pregame show Sunday to praise the coach for being “steady at the wheel” during a tumultuous season.
“He fought to get back above water and get things the way they were,” Poles said. “His ability to adapt and adjust, really take input from the players, to get this thing on the right path was incredible. I think a lot of people would have been in really bad shape and crumbled to the pressure.
“He got better with the pressure, and so did our football team.”
The Bears aren’t anywhere close to good enough, though. Eberflus will find out, sooner or later this week, whether he’ll get a chance to remedy that.
