Matt Eberflus may be around longer than Chicago Bears fans think

The Chicago Bears have lost two gut-wrenching games in a row, dropping their record to 4-4 and placing the unemployment line crosshairs directly on coach Matt Eberflus. Bears fans want the third-year head coach fired — like yesterday — but for a franchise that doesn’t fire coaches midseason, that seems highly unlikely to happen before this year concludes.

And, uh, buckle up. There’s a chance it won’t happen until the end of 2025, too.

Brad Biggs, the longtime Bears insider for the Chicago Tribune, shared this nugget of disturbing intel in his Wednesday column that has fans in a tizzy:

“While I was under the assumption Eberflus signed a four-year contract when he was hired, I’m now led to believe he actually signed a five-year deal that runs through the 2026 season,” Biggs wrote. “If you think about it, when you’re selling the idea of a rebuild and preaching patience, it stands to reason Eberflus would seek a deal longer than four years, and from what I’m told, I believe he got that. You may recall I asked Eberflus directly about the length of his contract when he was hired, and he declined to say.”

What does all of this mean? Simply put, it’s less likely that a team will can a head coach with two years left on his contract versus one. The Bears will be on the hook for Eberflus” salary for two more years while also paying whichever young offensive genius — who will cost a pretty penny — to replace him. That’s a hard pill to swallow, even for the wealthiest franchises.

READ: Despite recent struggles, Chicago Bears are favorites in Week 10

Matt Eberflus has been frustrating this season. There’s no doubt about it. He’s made some awful decisions in key moments of games, which has become his calling card as a head coach. His messaging appears to be falling on deaf ears now, and with so much riding on Caleb Williams” development, the Bears will be committing malpractice if they allow his mismanagement to continue.

But will Chicago fire him if he finishes at or around .500 this season? I doubt it, which means another year of the Flus could be more likely than we think.