Black Monday – as the name suggests – is a dark day for many NFL coaches. It's the day after the end of the regular season, when many teams announce that they have decided to part ways with their general manager, head coach or coordinator. But for the Bears, things look murky. The team has a lot of big decisions to make not only with the coaching staff, but also with the quarterbacks.
Let's start at the top with Ryan Bowles. The beginning of his tenure as Bears GM may have angered fans, as he traded Khalil Mack for a second-round pick and a sixth-round pick, then signed Larry Ogunjobi, only for Ogunjobi to fail with his physical condition. Poles faced a lot of stress early this year, when it became clear that his Chase Claypool trade was a bust. In November 2022, the Poles sent a second-round pick to Pittsburgh for the beleaguered wide receiver (that pick ended up being the 32nd pick in the draft), but Claypool never found his footing in Chicago. Things got so bad, he was asked to step away from the team. In October 2023, the Poles sent Claypool and a 2025 seventh-round pick to Miami in exchange for their 2025 sixth-round pick. Others questioned why the Poles would send linebacker Roquan Smith packing, only to spend big money on other linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and TJ Edwards.
But Edmunds and Edwards have turned out to be key players in the middle of the defence. Justin Jones, the man signed when the Ogunjobi deal fell through, played much better with an improved personnel around him. The Poles had professional misfires in 2022 (see: Taco Charlton, Dane Cruickshank, N'Keal Harry, Alex Leatherwood, Nick Morrow, Al-Qadian Muhammad, Byron Pringle), but the Bears have been rebuilding and trying to find hidden gems in the NFL. compromise. In 2023, when it's time to start building the roster back up, the Poles have had plenty of hits (see: Andrew Billings, Edmunds, Edwards, Donta Foreman, DeMarcus Walker).
It's still too early to fully judge Poles' recruiting classes since they're all first- or second-year players, but early results suggest he has a knack for finding talent from day one to day three. There are definitely picks that feel like mistakes (Vilus Jones Jr., Dominique Robinson). He has more picks that look like starters or consistent contributors, though (Jaquan Brisker, Jervon Dexter, Kyler Gordon, Braxton Jones, Terrell Smith, Tyreek Stevenson, Darnell Wright).
The highlight of the Poles is the Montez Sweet trade. Poles would have been ashamed at the approaching deadline in light of the Claypool debacle, but he trusted his process and principles, and made another huge deal, and it paid off. Race performed beyond expectations as the Bears desperately needed a superior rusher and helped turn the defense into an elite unit in the process. Thanks to the massive contract extension that followed the deal, Sweat will be a bear for the foreseeable future as well.
The Poles are not going anywhere. He's safe to direct the future of the franchise as he sees fit. Which brings us to the real questions that need to be answered next week.
First, the Poles must decide whether they want to keep Matt Eberflus as head coach. After starting this season 0-4, Eberflus' bench is starting to warm up despite having only coached the team in 21 games. A 14-game losing streak will do that. But like the Poles, Eberflus stuck to his process and principles. He took over calling the defense when defensive coordinator Alan Williams took his leave from the team in Week 2. Eberflus called for a more aggressive game and used creative personnel combinations, such as diving in dime packages on third down, to play to his team's strengths and cover their weaknesses. He remained the same coach no matter the circumstances. Players appreciated this balanced approach. It was certain to know what to expect and how they would be evaluated on a weekly basis. Eberflus preached that they will start seeing good results if they continue to work hard and stay the course. Things are definitely starting to turn around. When Sweat joined the team, the defense took off. Now they boast the No. 1 defense and lead the league in interceptions. The progress is clear.
Much of this progress can be credited to the strides the young players have made throughout the year. Brisker, Dexter, Gordon and Stevenson have all improved. Jaylon Johnson has gone from a great cornerback to an elite cornerback. Obviously the players deserve the most credit for their growth, but Eberflus and his staff have certainly had a hand in their development. This should not be ignored.
Bottom line, the Bears have gone from the worst team in the league at 3-14, to the middle tier of the NFL at 7-9 with a chance to make it eight wins at Lambeau Field. It looks like Eberflus should be safe going into this season. But what if a Hall of Fame coach like Bill Belichick becomes available for hiring? Or other certified winners like Mike Tomlin and Jim Harbaugh? The Bears should do their due diligence if the opportunity arises, as any franchise should.
If the Bears move on from Iberflus, all bets will be off in the next two divisions. The new coach will bring in his staff and will have his own opinions about the QB. If not, evaluations continue.
Next in line are offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and Justin Fields. Every guy deserves some blame for the shortcomings of the offense this year. Each man deserves some credit for a great offensive performance, like the 37-17 win against the Falcons or the 40 points the Bears dropped on the Chiefs. Their future may be related to some degree as well.
The offense has failed to grow at the same rate as the defense, so it needs to be scrutinized. At times, Getsy's connection was questionable. Calling three straight screens against the Buccaneers in Week 2 comes to mind, especially since the third screen led to a pick-six to seal the game. To make matters worse, Bucs defenders said they knew exactly what was coming so they could undermine the way. Sometimes, the protection schemes were inadequate, such as leaving rookie Darnell Wright or Cole Kimmitt on an island against elite pass rushers. Getsy failed to make in-game adjustments in other instances, such as throwing more than 20 passes near the line of scrimmage against the Vikings.
In other areas, Getsy has shown real growth. He's figured out how to get DJ Moore the ball consistently after a slow start to the season. He has shown a knack for designing effective QB runs with fields. He made deep shots against the man-heavy Falcons and it led to numerous plays and goals. He was able to put together efficient quick attacks, regardless of whether Khalil Herbert, Foreman or Roshon Johnson led the way.
Then there are the fields. Sometimes he still waits a long time before delivering passes. There are times when he doesn't seem to see the entire field clearly. This can result in shorter gains for recipients, or incompletion. His projections have improved, but there are still moments when it's clear that Fields needs to throw the ball before the receiver makes a break to have a chance at success. Ball control problems continued with 10 misses in 12 matches.
But Fields can make every throw required of a quarterback. Its accuracy is much improved. We haven't seen a ball sail over a receiver's head for an interception so easily in a long time. Fields still has one of the best deep balls in the league, and his ability to make off-script plays makes him a nuisance for opposing defenses on every snap. The big knock on Fields was that he couldn't lead the offense to score without a short field, or couldn't make plays down the line. Hits late in the game proved to put the Lions and Cardinals away, and stretch hits against the Cardinals and Falcons proved he was capable of that. Fields do things you can't teach. He's not perfect, but no QB is perfect.
Is it fair to give Fields a third offense to learn in just four years? Is that a recipe for success?
If you bring in a quarterback, do you want him to work under Getsy, who's on the hot seat? Would it be better to get a new QB and OC together, on the same track and schedule?
These are the questions the Bears had to ask themselves as they made their evaluations and why the future is so uncertain for the team. If the team decides Getsy isn't good enough, it might be best for both the Bears and Fields for the team to draft a rookie QB as well. If the team decides to reset with Caleb Williams or Drake Maye, it might be best to reset the entire offensive clock. Alternately, if the Bears decide to keep Getsy or Fields, it might be better to bring him back for both.
There are a lot of things that could happen for the Bears this season. Since they have the No. 1 overall pick, they have the flexibility to do whatever they want and have the bargaining chip to attract potential coaches. We'll get some clarity on the team soon, but some answers won't come until the team starts looking at the draft in earnest.
One thing is for sure though, this is set to be another interesting season in Chicago.
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