2024 NFC North Position Rankings: Coaching

At several points during the 2023 NFL season, it seemed like Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus would be fired. At one point, he had overseen a franchise-record 14-game losing streak. However, the defense showed a tremendous turnaround in the second half of the season, and with forward momentum, Eberflus kept his job.

We’ll soon answer whether that was the right decision for the Bears.

Let’s compare Eberflus and his coaching staff to the rest of the NFC North.

Detroit Lions

Head coach Dan Campbell was once in Ebeflus’ shoes. At one point, he was 4-19-1 as the head coach and on the verge of termination. But a late-season turnaround saved his job, and in 2023, he brought the Lions their first division crown in 30 years while making it to the NFC Championship game.

Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was one of the hottest head coach candidates this offseason, but he returns to Detroit for at least one more year. In a recent presser, he admitted that he doesn’t want just any head coaching job, he wants the right one. Aaron Glenn also returns as the defensive coordinator. The defense has improved under his watch but still has a long way to go, giving up the tenth most points in the 2023 season.

Minnesota Vikings

Kevin O’Connell saw immediate success after being named head coach prior to the 2022 season. He guided the Vikings to a 13-win season and the division title. They took a big step back in 2023, partly due to quarterback Kirk Cousins’ season-ending injury, but O’Connell still became the fastest coach in franchise history to reach 20 wins, hitting that mark in just 30 games.

The most blitz-happy defensive coordinator in the NFL returns to the Vikings for a second season. In 2023, Brian Flores dialed up more blitz packages than anyone else by a wide margin, sending blitzes on almost every other snap. Meanwhile, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips is returning for his third season on O’Connell’s staff. He and O’Connell will be charged with developing rookie quarterback JJ McCarthy into a franchise quarterback.

Green Bay Packers

The Packers hit the jackpot when they hired Matt LaFleur as head coach in 2019. He immediately turned the Packers back into contenders and won 13 games in each of his first three seasons, the first coach to ever do so. 2022 and 2023 were a bit rockier in terms of wins, but when you watch the Packers, you can see LaFleur scheming up wide-open receivers on almost every play. Calling plays in the NFL is a chess match and LaFleur so far has proven to be a master.

Adam Stenavich has been with Matt LaFleur since 2019 but was only promoted to offensive coordinator in 2022. He’s played a key role in developing quarterback Jordan Love and his young receivers, and they credited him with their success late last year.

A new face will be Jeff Hafley, who is replacing Joe Barry as defensive coordinator. He was most recently the head coach of Boston College, where he went 22-26 in four seasons with the school. This will be his first time serving as a defensive coordinator in the NFL.

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Chicago Bears

Despite a franchise-record losing streak, Matt Eberflus returns for his 3rd year as head coach of the Bears with what appears to be job security. By retaining Eberflus and firing offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, GM Ryan Poles signaled that he has confidence in Eberflus and that his coach is not currently on the hot seat. However, with a team built to win now, the expectations in 2024 will be much higher than in previous years.

Shane Waldron joins Chicago as the new offensive coordinator. Like Johnson, Waldron was a hot head coaching candidate this offseason, yet he took the lateral move to the Bears. Many people took that as a signal that Waldron sees big things ahead for the Bears, specifically rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. There will be a lot of pressure on his shoulders to develop Williams properly and shepherd him to the superstar status he’s seemed destined for.

Also joining the Bears is defensive coordinator Eric Washington. This is his second stint in Chicago, he was a defensive coach from 2008-2010. Most recently, he was Buffalo’s defensive line coach and assistant head coach.

Bears coaching staff could soon be among league’s best, but they must prove it.

Unless Jordan Love and the Packers suffer a severe regression in 2024, nothing will knock LaFleur and his staff off the perch of the best coaches in the NFC North. They’ve been far too successful these last five years. In second place we have Dan Campbell and the Lions, fresh off their first NFC Championship game appearance.

Kevin O’Connell and his staff are third thanks to their winning ways early on, leaving Matt Ebeflus and the Bears in last place. This ranking was inevitable, given Eberflus’ historically poor start and some of his staff’s bizarre developments, but this could change quickly if the Bears are as good as some analysts think they can be in 2024. It all hinges on his coordinator hires this offseason and how quickly Caleb Williams adjusts to the NFL.