Column: An open letter to new Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus. Welcome! Now understand the colossal challenge you just accepted.
Congratulations on your new gig. Find the Halas Hall video vaults and comb through the“ Hall of Fame” drawer, soaking in footage of Walter Payton and Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers and Brian Urlacher. Try 44-0 over the Dallas Cowboys in 1985, a performance that members of the greatest defense in NFL history often prop up as their most dominant in a spectacular season.
Dear Coach Eberflus,
Congratulations on your new gig. And welcome to Chicago. What an amazing opportunity! You’re going to love it here. (For a little while, anyway.)
This is your time now, your chance to take the steering wheel of a franchise that has a rich history in a football-crazed city with a fan base that’s both intensely passionate and overwhelmingly loyal. (To be honest, the unwavering devotion is almost warped, given these fans’ tortured existence over the last 30 years.)
Still, stop just for a minute. Smell the roses. Take it all in.
Envision what this experience might become if you can put together a run of sustained success. Talk to Bears alumni who have been on the joyride at its peaks. Listen to their tales of how this city comes alive and radiates with electricity when its favorite football team is winning regularly.
Find the Halas Hall video vaults and comb through the “Hall of Fame” drawer, soaking in footage of Walter Payton and Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers and Brian Urlacher.
Browse the “Iconic Moments” folder and experience the most invigorating adrenaline rushes this team has produced.
Try 44-0 over the Dallas Cowboys in 1985, a performance that members of the greatest defense in NFL history often prop up as their most dominant in a spectacular season.
Relive “The Miracle in the Desert” in 2006, the most ridiculous comeback in team history, with the Bears rallying from 20 points down late in the third quarter to stun the Arizona Cardinals 24-23 — without scoring an offensive touchdown.
Sit in the theater at team headquarters and watch Mike Singletary’s bulging eyes, grainy footage of the 1940 NFL championship game and Devin Hester’s kickoff return to open Super Bowl XLI.
Find the display case that holds the franchise’s only Lombardi Trophy, the one attained at Super Bowl XX in New Orleans 36 years ago. Stare at that for a minute.
Feeling those goosebumps yet? Good. Embrace them. Because this new gig of yours also comes with hazards. And colossal demands.
Most notably, you’re now responsible for lifting the Bears out of one of the most prolonged and maddening stretches of mediocrity in their 102-year history.
Their last playoff win came on Jan. 16, 2011 — more than 11 years ago. Only four NFL teams have a longer postseason victory drought: the Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders and Washington Football Team.
Whoa.
For context, Tom Brady has won 21 playoff games since the Bears last won one. Aaron Rodgers has earned three MVP awards and reached five NFC championship games since then.
Double whoa.
There are dozens of nuggets like those, reality-check trivia that illuminate how lost this franchise has been for so long.
Think about this: The Bears haven’t had three consecutive winning seasons since 1988, when “The Cosby Show” was No. 1 on television, Poison topped the Billboard singles chart — and you were an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Toledo.
Now you’re 51 and about to start your 31st season in coaching.
So yes, Matt, this will be a steep climb with a few major rockslides guaranteed. Grab a trusty helmet and get going.
This city can’t wait to hear your vision and coaching philosophies. Most of all, even as you highlight the valuable details of how you built the Indianapolis Colts defense into a nasty unit, you’ll have to share your ideas for the Bears offense.
Who will you hire as your offensive coordinator? What kind of plan will you set up to develop quarterback Justin Fields? Can you help Chicago enjoy Sundays in the fall like so many other NFL cities get to — with offensive fireworks on a regular basis?
Over the last few weeks, it has been nice to learn more about what you built in Indy. Led by Darius Leonard, DeForest Buckner and Kenny Moore II, your Colts defense tied for ninth in the league in points allowed and led the AFC with 33 takeaways. We have heard the way Colts coach Frank Reich has praised you and have developed a better understanding of how your detail-oriented nature and communication style sparks a natural connection with your players.
Terrific to hear. But as you know, you’ll need far more than that to succeed in this job.
We’ll presume your contract with the Bears is like most NFL head coaching deals: four years with an option for a fifth. But don’t presume that guarantees you office space at Halas Hall through the 2026 season. None of your three predecessors — Matt Nagy, John Fox or Marc Trestman — made it to a fifth season. Collectively, they lasted nine seasons — with a .421 combined winning percentage.
Yikes, right?
That’s this league now. And that’s this franchise too. Navigating your way to glory will be a little like making it to the end of one of those obstacle-riddled “Wipeout” courses.
Look out for the Sideway Sweeper! Don’t be blindsided by the Sucker Punch!
Success is far from a given. In fact, it’s a rarity here. So forgive the masses if the initial jolt of excitement about your hiring quickly morphs into suspicion and doubt about whatever vision you articulate and plans you lay out.
It’s not you. (At least not yet.) This is simply a city that’s scarred. Exhausted. Tired of being continually disappointed and beyond listening to empty promises.
Three years ago, Nagy stood on a stage at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta for the NFL Honors extravaganza and was presented the Coach of the Year trophy by Joe Namath, Barry Sanders and Monica. At that time, no one in Chicago would have classified his hiring as a blunder. The Bears had a division-championship team with an elite defense and a maturing young quarterback. A window to compete for championships for at least the next five years seemed wide open.
Instead, they went 22-27 over the next three seasons, averaged only 19.7 points per game and, due to both injury and inconsistency, cycled through five starting quarterbacks. The energy and euphoria that accompanied Nagy’s first season was replaced this season by chants calling for his job and an unending chain of questions about when he would have to pack up his office and leave.
So even if you have significant success immediately, it will be difficult to quell all the outside skepticism. People here are hungry to experience an actual run of success, not just an occasional flash of fun.
Who knows? Maybe Fields will be the answer for you, a young, talented and driven player who will reach his potential and become a top-10 quarterback. But you’ll need to give him help. A lot of help.
First and foremost, Fields needs an offensive coordinator and a system he believes in and is energized by. He also needs a sturdier line, more difference makers at the skill positions and a playbook that better utilizes the playmakers who are already here. (Oh, and don’t forget to play to his strengths.)
He also might need a little reassurance, at least initially. Fields’ rookie season wasn’t exactly magical. He threw only seven touchdown passes in 10 starts and just three after the Week 10 bye. He had 10 interceptions, fumbled 12 times and missed five games because of injury or illness.
He was sacked once every 4.4 completions, suffered cracked ribs and a sprained ankle and missed the season finale after testing positive for COVID-19. So yeah, it would be in your best interest to make a good first impression with Fields in a way that puts him in a good headspace when spring practices begin.
You’ll also have to look at your depth charts with fresh eyes and make honest assessments about all the improvement that is needed. This roster is OK. Not horrendous. But just OK.
Talk to your peers around the league, in coaching and front-office circles. They’ll tell you, with brutal but necessary honesty, that there simply aren’t enough stars in the building right now.
Three Bears were named to either the initial Pro Bowl rosters or the Associated Press All-Pro team in 2021. But as wonderful as Robert Quinn’s season was, he turns 32 in May and doesn’t figure to be playing at an elite level by the time this team is ready to make a legitimate run.
Jakeem Grant is a return specialist and a nice gadget player on offense. But that won’t propel you to the Super Bowl.
Roquan Smith is the most likely current player to give you at least five more years of top-tier play. So it’s probably wise to emphasize to your new boss, general manager Ryan Poles, the need to lock up Smith beyond his rookie contract. (That expires in March 2023, FYI. So negotiations probably need to start intensifying right away.)
It’s also your job to get the most out of the rest of the ascending young talent on the roster. Chairman George McCaskey singled out Smith and David Montgomery earlier this month as “fan favorites who gave everything they had on every play.” He’s not wrong. But that list was incomplete. Spend a few days combing through last season’s video and zero in on the passion and upside of Jaylon Johnson, Darnell Mooney, Cole Kmet and Trevis Gipson.
Make them building blocks. Then get them help.
Perhaps most important, it will be your duty to help Poles in his first season as an NFL general manager. The two of you obviously hit it off quickly during this week’s interview at Halas Hall. But you’ll have to let him know the types of players you want, collaborating with him to crystallize a vision for where this team needs to go.
Sorry to be so long-winded. But it’s important for you to realize the prestige of the position you just accepted and the gravity of the responsibilities you’re taking on. None of this will be easy. But hey, as hard as the work promises to be, this should be fun. (For a little while, anyway.)
Hopefully all of this gives you a snapshot of what you’re walking into. Holler if you have any other questions.
Again, welcome to Chicago! We’re looking forward to learning more about you soon.