Was retaining Matt Eberflus the right move by the Chicago Bears?

The Chicago Bears began the 2024 offseason with two major questions: 1) Who’s going to be the head coach, and 2) who’s going to be the quarterback?

We got an answer to one of those questions on Wednesday.

The Bears confirmed that coach Matt Eberflus will be back in 2024, and if you listened to the end-of-year press conference, it certainly sounds like there’s confidence he’ll be around even longer than that.

“I saw a lot of progress,” Poles said of Eberflus from Halas Hall. “There’s a reason why we went from three to seven wins. … If it’s not for him, I really don’t think that’s the case.”

Maybe that’s true. Maybe Eberflus’ steady hand and leadership, his commitment to his program and adherence to his principles, kept the Bears treading water until their quality second half of the season when they went 5-3 over the final eight games.

“Just in terms of his leadership and stability, I really think that the head coach needs to be able to captain the ship when the seas are stormy or when the seas have storms, and really keep everything settled,” Poles said. “When you go through hard times and he can keep everyone together, to me, that’s like the critical piece.

“In a big market like this, you have to be strong. I mean, if he’s jumping off the boat and everyone else starts jumping off the boat, it’s a hot mess.”

But none of that erases Matt Eberflus” 10-24 record over his first two seasons in Chicago, which is why Bears fans were a rowdy bunch on social media once news broke that Eberflus will be back.

Did the #DaBears make the right decision keeping Matt Eberflus?

— Bears Talk (@TheBearsTalk) January 11, 2024

There was a very (very) large contingent of the fan base that wanted Jim Harbaugh to be the team’s next head coach.

“I didn’t talk to Jim (Harbaugh),” Poles said. “He’s the coach at Michigan.”

Bears president Kevin Warren spoke Wednesday, too, and he, like Poles, expressed his fondness for Eberflus. Both key decision-makers lauded the culture that Eberflus is building. The Chicago Bears played hard for 17 games despite an 0-4 start. Another head coach may have lost his team halfway through the season. Not the Bears, they seemed to play harder for Eberflus even as the losses mounted

That matters. And I get it: The Bears blew three games with double-digit leads in the fourth quarter this year. Eberflus was terrible in all three losses. Had he found a way to coach his team to victories, Chicago would be in the playoffs, and that’s hard to ignore. Even Poles said the Bears need to finish those games to take the next step as a legitimate contender in the NFC North, and perhaps with another year on the job, Eberflus will get his roster over the hump.

“We’re impatiently patient, but we also understand the importance to build a champion, it does take some time,” Warren said. “I’m not saying a lot of time, but I strongly believe that going into this third year is going to be a critical time for us to take a major jump.”

Sure, Harbaugh would’ve been exciting. And fun. And if he was hired, the Bears would’ve won the offseason. But Poles believes in Matt Eberflus, and that should matter to Chicago Bears fans. If you praise Poles” roster decisions, if you’re a fan of his NFL draft classes and free-agent signings, if you believe he’s the right general manager to restore a winning tradition in Chicago, then you have to give him the benefit of the doubt with his decision on Eberflus.

Bears fans will be fractured the entire offseason. Eberflus” return is just an appetizer for Chicago’s eventual decision at quarterback. That’s when things will get ugly, the pro-Justin Fields vs. pro-Draft a Rookie at No. 1 Overall will be a fight worthy of Pay-Per-View. That’s for another day, however.

For now, Matt Eberflus is back. And, personally? I’m fine with it. The Bears were 7-10 in his second season. He more than doubled his win total. He proved he can call a hell of a defensive game. And the players love him.

Keep an open mind as we enter Year 3 of his program. As Kevin Warren noted, a bigger jump is expected this year, one in which I’d hesitate to call a lame-duck season. I don’t think anyone will project the Chicago Bears as a playoff team when the summer rolls around. Instead, they’ll have developed into a club that should hover around .500 and potentially make some noise in a late-season playoff race.

That’s good news. Remember: in 2022, the Bears were the worst team in the NFL. They ended the year with the No. 1 pick for a reason. They stunk. Yet, here we are, one year later, and Eberflus … yes, Matt Eberflus … has turned the ship around and has the team pointed in the right direction. There’s no denying that, even if you’re a Harbaugh fan.

The debate is over. The hypotheticals are gone. This is Matt Eberflus’ team, and it’s time to rally behind him.

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