At the “Welcome to Week 1” meeting Monday morning at Halas Hall, Matt Eberflus could feel the energy growing, sensing the anticipation of his players.
The regular season had arrived. At long last. And with Sunday’s opener against the Tennessee Titans closing in, the Chicago Bears were exhibiting an itch to unleash their competitive eagerness, like a pack of prizefighters bouncing in the tunnel and awaiting the nod to stalk toward the ring.
“We started the spring in shadowboxing mode,” Eberflus said. “And then in training camp we moved into the sparring mode. Now? We’re (heading) into the bout. Now we’ve got to fight.”
The buildup to this moment, to this season, has been steady yet pronounced. After the offseason grind, after months of team-building initiatives, after seven weeks of training camp, the Bears will slip between the ropes into a season that feels like it could become transformative.
For Eberflus, the wind at his back feels substantial. In so many ways, he enters the 2024 season with new energy and a new opportunity to return the Bears to prominence. Courtesy of his wife, Kelly, and his daughters, Giada and Grace, Eberflus has a new-and-improved mien about him. His well-documented makeover includes a well-groomed beard, a fade haircut and a new sense of style.
With the help of general manager Ryan Poles, Eberflus also has a new-and-improved roster to work with. Seventeen players on the current 53-man roster are new to Halas Hall this season, an attention-grabbing list that includes wide receivers Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze, running back D’Andre Swift, safety Kevin Byard and — oh, yeah — rookie Caleb Williams, who has been advertised as one of the most promising young quarterbacks to enter the NFL in decades.
Eberflus added 10 new coaches to his staff, including coordinators Shane Waldron and Eric Washington plus quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph and passing game coordinator Thomas Brown.
He seems more equipped than ever to guide the Bears through this window of opportunity. This is his fairest chance yet to show exactly who he is as an NFL head coach.
Yet as much of the football world focuses on Chicago to see what will happen next, uncertainty lingers. On the betting markets alone, optimism and skepticism remain in a fierce tug of war.
Somehow, Eberflus is at once the current favorite to be named Coach of the Year at the NFL Honors ceremony in February in New Orleans while also registering among the four most likely coaches to be fired next.
At a minimum, that’s a strong indicator the Bears will be one of the most compelling teams to keep track of this season, starting Sunday when they will arrive at Soldier Field favored to beat the Titans and expecting to get a promising season off on the right foot.
Character counts
The Bears march into the season with steadfast confidence in the culture Eberflus has established over two-plus years at Halas Hall, even if the roster includes only 13 players who participated in his first game as Bears coach in 2022.
Culture can be a much-talked-about but difficult-to-assess concept in the NFL. And, truthfully, it is often best measured by winning percentage. But Eberflus believes he set a foundation over the last two seasons for what his program should be all about.
It starts with the character he and Poles have worked to infuse into the locker room. Both leaders remain unwavering in their vision to build around passionate players who are low-maintenance, team-centric and singular in their focus on winning.
It’s easy to identify a surplus of such players, particularly in the core leadership roles. The Bears’ eight captains — Marcedes Lewis, Cole Kmet, DJ Moore, T.J. Edwards, Tremaine Edmunds, Jaylon Johnson, Byard and Williams — are ideal examples of the player profile the team is seeking.
Beyond that, many players are appreciative of Eberflus’ methodology to strengthen team chemistry. Whether it was a golf outing to Strawberry Creek in Wisconsin, a series of food-truck-catered gatherings at the coach’s house or the numerous spring “skull sessions” designed to connect with players on a much more personal level, Bears players believe they are seeing on-field dividends from the bonds they have built.
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Eberflus has been emphatic that his efforts to forge such connections are “very authentic” and “very intentional.”
“I trust the leadership of this team,” he said. “I can feel the closeness and the bond they are forming earlier than ever before.”
Added cornerback Kyler Gordon: “When you spend so much time together outside of football, it builds chemistry and dependability. And in my opinion, that makes the game easier, the communication easier, the flow of trust easier.”
‘In the doing’
Paired with such chemistry, of course, Eberflus’ preferred style of play has continued to develop, centered around his well-documented HITS principle.
For those in need of a refresher, that’s Hustle. Intensity. Taking away/taking care of the football. And Situational smarts.
That may still register as a trite “made for Michael’s” wall hanging to outsiders skeptical of how much an acronym can fuel championship runs. But in his second season at Halas Hall, Edwards has become a believer in the standard the HITS principle has set.
“When you first get here, you have to kind of see it to understand what it’s supposed to look like,” said Edwards, the linebacker from Lake Villa whom the Bears signed in free agency in 2023. “But now, having guys who have been here for two or three years and guys who can watch tape from last year of those same guys doing it, it’s something where you know what’s expected of you.”
Edwards counts himself among those responsive to Eberflus’ firm hand and his push for players to attain an advanced understanding of the game.
“Your IQ of the game is big,” Edwards said. “And that’s Flus through and through.”
The goal is that such methodology will elevate one of the league’s better defenses into one of its best. And these Bears certainly seem headed in that direction with established, Pro Bowl-caliber playmakers on all three levels plus a heightened belief that stems from their strong finish to last season.
With 16 interceptions over the final seven games, the Bears ended up fifth in the NFL in takeaways for the season, adding teeth to a pass defense that complemented the league’s stingiest run defense.
That late surge came after Eberflus grabbed play-calling duties following the sudden Week 3 exit of defensive coordinator Alan Williams. Inside the building, there was a sense that the unfortunate twist became a blessing in disguise for Eberflus, whose altered role pushed him back toward his comfort zone, helping him become more relaxed in his coaching duties yet more intense in how he pushed his players.
Through that lens, it’s easy to understand why, since early spring, many Bears defensive players have talked openly about establishing themselves as a top-five unit this year. And it’s also easy to understand why Eberflus worked to tone down such chatter as minicamp ended in June.
“I tell the players all the time: Words are awesome,” Eberflus said. “I love words and I like goals and I do believe in that. But it comes down to what we do on the grass. It’s got to be shown out there.
“I believe in saying it (out loud) and being confident and all those things. But it’s in the doing. It’s not in the talking about it.”
Balancing act
As a defensive-minded coach with a strong unit on that side of the ball and a competitive team capable of making a legitimate playoff push, it will be fascinating to monitor how Eberflus oversees — and, in many instances, presses the buttons for — a new-look Bears offense.
Will he allow Waldron the autonomy to remain aggressive in close games with a rookie quarterback? And will Eberflus find the right blend of patience and fearlessness to give Williams his best chance to spread his wings and grow without the team’s chances to win being compromised?
That may be a difficult tightrope to walk. At times, the immediate priority of winning might obstruct the long view of creating a quarterback-fueled journey toward sustained excellence. Eberflus, though, is confident he has the proper approach.
“I really think that comes down to play design,” he said. “I’m just going to micro it down actually to (each) play. We all know what Caleb can do in terms of his arm talent and throwing on the move and those types of things. But in the early parts of the game and on early downs, he’s just asked to play point guard.
“Have a great operation, play point guard, get the ball to our skill (players), either by handing it off or throwing it to them and letting them do the running and moving around and gaining the yards.”
When the Cincinnati Bengals came to Halas Hall last month for a joint practice with the Bears, Zac Taylor reflected on many of the challenges Eberflus is taking on through the prism of his own development of a highly regarded young quarterback.
Not long ago Taylor was in similar shoes, a second-year head coach in 2020 when the Bengals drafted Joe Burrow with the No. 1 pick and immediately anointed him their starter.
Taylor knew going in the growing pains Burrow would experience and the inevitable frustration the team likely would endure as a result. It’s an easier-said-than-done task within the pressure of the regular season to push through such turbulence with grace.
“You just have to learn from every experience and store it away and move on,” Taylor said.
Learning experience
Taylor cited a specific Week 6 stumble in the 2020 season — coincidentally, against an Eberflus-led Indianapolis Colts defense — in which Burrow’s attempt to lead a game-winning drive in the final minutes instead ended with a loss-sealing turnover.
Eberflus, in his effort to confuse an inexperienced rookie in a big moment, sent a four-deep zone blitz at Burrow and forced a hasty decision. Burrow sent the football right to safety Julian Blackmon, whose interception finished off a 31-27 Colts victory.
“First time we had seen that in his career,” Taylor said. “And so (Burrow) stored that away and said, ‘If I ever get that one again, I know what I’m going to get to.’ There are moments like that that are going to happen. You store them away and you learn from them.
“Caleb is going to have a long career. So you’ll have plenty to store away for.”
That Bengals team, though, had lower expectations going into Burrow’s rookie season, widely projected to be one of the NFL’s worst teams. Thus it was easier to reset after losses and use a big-picture lens to lessen the sting. Eberflus won’t have that luxury this season.
Every loss will get in the way of the Bears reaching their realistic goal of playing playoff football in January. But that’s part of the reason Eberflus tailored the spring and summer development plan for Williams to expose him to more of everything. Much more.
More information piled onto his plate as he learned the offense. More coverage looks sent his way in practice. Many more reps against the first-team defense.
That approach required belief in both Williams’ football aptitude and his mental toughness. But those are two traits the Bears view as high-level strengths in their new quarterback.
Eberflus’ plan also was designed to give Williams plenty of offseason and training camp struggles to store away when the rough days had much less at stake.
On Wednesday, Williams acknowledged the net gains of that approach.
“(The defense has) been challenging me from that (first) stage until now,” he said. “They haven’t been trying to add the challenge throughout time. … It’s been awesome the amount of ball I’ve been able to see, the amount of ball I’ve been able to learn from the coaches and also from being out there with the guys.”
On the flip side
With all the positive vibes flowing inside Halas Hall and all the optimistic energy mushrooming around Chicago, it’s easy to forget that the last time Eberflus coached a meaningful game, his Bears walked into Lambeau Field in January, failed to score a touchdown and lost to the rival Green Bay Packers for the 10th consecutive time.
That defeat dropped Eberflus’ record as Bears coach to 10-24 overall and 2-10 in the NFC North. It also punctuated a 10-loss, last-place season that included an abysmal 0-4 start; the in-season exits of two assistant coaches for conduct-related reasons; and three losses in which the Bears blew double-digit leads in the fourth quarter.
Throughout league circles, many wondered as last season ended whether the Bears — under the direction of Poles and President/CEO Kevin Warren — might opt for an understandable and conveniently timed coaching reboot.
With the No. 1 draft pick — the winning raffle ticket with which to claim Williams — some surmised Poles would be better off finding an offensive-minded head coach to plan and guide the development of the new quarterback.
Such a restart also would have allowed the Bears to avoid any win-or-else pressure in 2024 — real or perceived — that may become a hindrance to the launch of Williams’ career.
The most daunting hypothetical in this football-scarred city remains in play: that the 2024 Bears, with Eberflus at the controls, will fall well short of expectations. And that could trigger suggestions for the “Here we go again” option of firing the head coach right after a highly drafted quarterback’s rookie season. (See also: Trubisky, Mitch, and Fields, Justin.)
Poles never has given that worst-case scenario much oxygen.
“I just have a ton of confidence that we’re not going to be in that situation,” he told the Tribune in March. “There is going to be stability.”
‘A stronger product’
For two-plus years, Poles has watched Eberflus handle his duties at Halas Hall with equanimity and steadiness. The GM sees his handpicked coach as a leader capable of maximizing the talent he has been given and emphasizes that Eberflus lifted the Bears from three wins in 2022 to seven last season.
And now, with all three phases of the team making strides?
“It’s kind of easy to see where it’s trending,” Poles said.
Last week Poles went even deeper in expressing his admiration for how Eberflus has steered this team since last season ended, lauding his adaptability, resilience and ability “to hold the line” during difficult and noisy times.
“From where our roster was and with how far we knew it had to go, to set a standard and hold everybody to that is extremely difficult,” Poles said. “To keep a team together through adversity is extremely difficult.
“But at the end of the day, what’s going to be awesome is that those things are going to be established (now). And then, when the winning comes, you’ll have a stronger product because of it.”
Poles’ endorsement carries substantial weight, particularly inside Halas Hall, as the ongoing evaluation of Eberflus includes a bit of an “eye of the beholder” dynamic.
Where some see Eberflus’ .294 winning percentage through two seasons, others acknowledge the context of such numbers, aware of the inferior rosters he was asked to work with during the earliest and most challenging phases of the rebuild.
Where some see a golden opportunity for Eberflus to work with an uber-talented and driven quarterback in Williams, others point out the two seasons of frustration he experienced trying to squeeze acceptable production out of Fields.
Where some noticed a surge in competitive tenacity from Eberflus’ Bears last season, particularly during a November/December surge in which they won five of seven games — and had sizable second-half leads in the two losses — others remember that 17-9 season-ending loss to the Packers. That defeat dropped the Bears to 1-6 against teams that qualified for the playoffs.
So now what? Where does Eberflus’ journey go from here? And how influential can he be in guiding the Bears onto a track that keeps them in Super Bowl contention for the rest of the 2020s?
Kmet, for one, sees a coach who has become much more comfortable with his role, particularly in the forward-facing duties in front of the team and the media.
“From our first team meeting until now, there’s just a big difference,” Kmet said. “There’s a level of comfort from doing it over and over again.”
Johnson, meanwhile, points to Eberflus’ everyday consistency as a trait players have bought into.
“Whether we agree with it or not as players at that time, he’s very much consistent in what he wants and how we’re going to do things,” the Pro Bowl cornerback said. “I definitely can say I respect that.”
Johnson also emphasized Wednesday that Eberflus has shown savvy in letting his leaders establish a strong presence with their voices and work habits. To a large extent, Johnson said, the unity Eberflus was so intent on creating has spawned critical player ownership for this next phase of the mission.
“I would describe it as a want-to,” Johnson said. “It’s guys wanting to come together, wanting to be special and knowing what it takes to get there. From there, it’s everybody buying in and doing their own individual part to make that happen and make this team better.”
Now the Bears are on their way into the ring, into a seemingly pivotal 2024 season, into Sunday’s opener feeling a heightened sense of purpose and direction.
