2024 NFL Offseason and Draft Thread

[DegenerateDish]

If Poles valued his own job security, he should have sold the McCaskey’s on firing Eberflus. He then could have reset the coaching staff, at a time when they have a chance to fully change everything on the field, with as fortunate an opportunity that has ever existed for them.

All this way of doing business accomplished is putting Eberflus on the hot seat immediately, and then resetting everything (except the QB) a year from now. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Also, all Kevin Warren is doing is collecting significant pay checks. That puff piece the Bears put out last week on him was utterly ridiculous.

[cheebs09]

Who is "him"? Poles?

Eberflus will have slightly more input on the QB than I do.

Then he should probably be fired. If you don't trust him to help pick the QB, how can you trust him to develop the QB?

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

I would support Eberflus being canned. But, looking at the entire body of work (coaching a team in tank mode then getting the talent of the Bears to 7 wins) is not terrible. I can live with this.

I would rank the moves needed to be made as 1. Getsy (done), 2. Fields (TBD) 3. Eberflus (not).
(nice to get the GB stink out of Halas Hall  )

What has Eberflus shown that you would rate him anything greater than "replacement level?" He wasn't even great as a coordinator. He seems like just a guy.

If you are going to hit the reset button, and I think if you are at the point of bringing in a new quarterback and two new coordinators you are definitely at that point, then hit the damn reset button.

[Pakuni]

Then he should probably be fired. If you don't trust him to help pick the QB, how can you trust him to develop the QB?

I think you guys are talking past one another a bit.
Eberlus almost certainly will have input on the pick, assuming he's staying. Eberflus will not be making the pick.

[WhiteTrash]

Him = Eberflus.

It would seem incredibly dumb to pick a QB your coach (or at least OC) doesn't agree with.

Maybe. I'd guess that Poles and Eberflus are generally aligned (hence he still has a job). As Sultan said, if they are not then the whole franchise is doomed, but that assumes that guys like Poles and Warren are complete idiots and have b.s.'d their way through their careers. To assert the Vikings, Big10, Colts, etc are too stupid to see these guys for the absolute fools that this would suggest is aggressive.

I guess anything is possible.

[WhiteTrash]

I think you guys are talking past one another a bit.
Eberlus almost certainly will have input on the pick, assuming he's staying. Eberflus will not be making the pick.

This is my point. Eberflus is not Belichick or Sean Payton. He is far from a de-facto GM. The Bears future is in Poles' hands and not Eberflus'.

The other point being made is fair, it is best to have your QB coach, OC and HC aligned with the QB selection.

[jesmu84]

This is getting me more riled up as time goes on.

Is Eberflus capable of evaluating an OC? Clearly Getsy wasn't quality enough. How can management believe the next one is quality?

What good OC will want to work under a lame duck HC?

You've got a ton of cap space. You've got a solid young core of talent on both sides of the ball. You've got 1.01 (and 1.09).

Reset your whole coaching staff at a time when the HC candidates are superb quality.

This ownership/management is so inept.

[Hards Alumni]

What probably happened is the Bears were waiting on the NC to end to contact Harbaugh, and he said nahhhhhhhh.  So the Bears decided to ride with Eberflus for another year as long as SOME changes were made.

I agree with you guys, the ownership should have just done a full reset.

[WhiteTrash]

This is getting me more riled up as time goes on.

Is Eberflus capable of evaluating an OC? Clearly Getsy wasn't quality enough. How can management believe the next one is quality?

What good OC will want to work under a lame duck HC?

You've got a ton of cap space. You've got a solid young core of talent on both sides of the ball. You've got 1.01 (and 1.09).

Reset your whole coaching staff at a time when the HC candidates are superb quality.

This ownership/management is so inept.

I said above, I would have fully supported firing Eberflus. You make excellent points. His selections of assistants are a big red flag. If Poles had to force him to fire Getsy, that is also very concerning.

[jesmu84]

This franchise ain't changing/improving without new ownership. And new ownership ain't happening soon.

Bring me a 2nd Chicago franchise so I can buy new merch.

[Uncle Rico]

What probably happened is the Bears were waiting on the NC to end to contact Harbaugh, and he said nahhhhhhhh.  So the Bears decided to ride with Eberflus for another year as long as SOME changes were made.

I agree with you guys, the ownership should have just done a full reset.

Yup.  Bears have this draft capital and they’re going to blow it

[jesmu84]

@courtneyrcronin

Some thoughts:

1. If a contract extension doesn't come for Matt Eberflus (aka assurance for the next offensive staff coming in), then I think it will be challenging for the Bears to find the pool of candidates they want for an OC, QBs coach, etc. If you're an OC with offers to go several places, why take a job with a head coach entering lame duck status who could be gone if the team doesn't win in 2024? If the HC ends up being fired after next season, nearly every time the whole staff is gone. That's something an OC and his offensive staff would have to consider.

2. If the Bears stick with Justin Fields in 2024, they will be asking him to learn his 3rd offense in 4 years. It takes a whole year alone to master the verbiage of an offense as we were told first hand from Fields and his offensive teammates. That seems like a tall ask for a QB still trying to find his footing after 38 career starts.

3. If no extension comes for Eberflus and the Bears trade Fields and draft a rookie QB with the No. 1 overall pick, the team is perpetuating the same cycle we've seen since John Fox-Mitchell Trubisky, then Trubkisy-Matt Nagy, then Nagy-Justin Fields, then Fields-Matt Eberflus. Ultimately, the Bears could have broken that cycle if they decided to make changes across the board but are moving forward with Eberflus in 2024 and a *massive*, franchise-altering decision to make a QB in the coming months.

Stay tuned.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Exactly. All because you want to keep Matt Eberflus!!! 

[MuggsyB]

WTF are the Bears doing??

[Pakuni]

@courtneyrcronin

Is it routine to give a head coach an extension after two years of a four-year deal?
None of the other coaches hired in that cycle have received extensions either, best as I can tell.
All the other points/criticisms are fair, but handing out an extension halfway through a coaching contract doesn't seem the norm.

[jesmu84]

Is it routine to give a head coach an extension after two years of a four-year deal?
None of the other coaches hired in that cycle have received extensions either, best as I can tell.
All the other points/criticisms are fair, but handing out an extension halfway through a coaching contract doesn't seem the norm.

I have no idea.

But I think the implication is that they should consider extension merely to give confidence to any incoming staff.

[jesmu84]

Exactly. All because you want to keep Matt Eberflus!!!

IMO, bears ownership is incompetent. No way they thought through the whole scenario

[tower912]

St. Pete out in Seattle?   Surprised by this one.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Seattle moving on from Pete Carroll as head coach was not something I predicted.

[tower912]

7 seconds.  Kicked your butt.

[Uncle Rico]

Which Schottemheimer will the Bears hire?

[Jockey]

What has Eberflus shown that you would rate him anything greater than "replacement level?" He wasn't even great as a coordinator. He seems like just a guy.

If you are going to hit the reset button, and I think if you are at the point of bringing in a new quarterback and two new coordinators you are definitely at that point, then hit the damn reset button.

I agree on everything you say. But this is the bears. I expect them to extend his contract and then keep Fields. That is what teams like the bears do.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

The most Bearsy thing to do is ditch Fields, draft Williams, and hire a new OC to coach him. They will then go 3-14 and fire everyone, leaving Williams to start over in year two. Or maybe year three.  They keep making this same mistake.

[jesmu84]

The most Bearsy thing to do is ditch Fields, draft Williams, and hire a new OC to coach him. They will then go 3-14 and fire everyone, leaving Williams to start over in year two. Or maybe year three.  They keep making this same mistake.

That's what happened with Trubisky and Fields.

It's insanity.

And it isn't one GM. Or one VP.

That would lead to the conclusion that's it's an owner-related issue

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

That's what happened with Trubisky and Fields.

It's insanity.

And it isn't one GM. Or one VP.

That would lead to the conclusion that's it's an owner-related issue

Oh of course it is. To me, they want to emulate the Steelers who have had three coaches in the last 50+ years.  That's what proper organizations do.

The problem is that they can't hire a good enough coach to keep him around, and they keep deluding themselves into thinking the current guy is it.