The Chicago Bears’ season came to a bitter end after closing out the year suffering an abysmal loss to the rival Green Bay Packers, setting in motion what is sure to be one of the most important offseasons in the franchise’s history.
After a couple of days of radio silence from Halas Hall, the team dropped the bombshell that they had fired inept offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, as well as other members of his offensive staff.
The Bears also revealed that current head coach Matt Eberflus will stay with the team through the 2024 season, which surprised much of the fanbase.
General manager Ryan Poles’ willingness to relinquish Getsy of his duties initially indicated that the Bears might start anew, letting go of Eberflus and bringing in a new head coach that is more accomplished.
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, who had led his Wolverines to a national championship this week, was the hot pick for most of the Chicago faithful, as he cultivated a winning atmosphere in both the college and NFL levels.
Poles continued to endorse Eberflus at the team’s year-end press conference on Wednesday, where he answered some of the more pressing questions both the media and fans wanted answers to. One such question was whether Poles had any conversations with the championship-winning coach in Ann Arbor, to which Poles had a surprising answer.
“I did not talk to Jim Harbaugh,” Poles said. “He’s the coach at Michigan.”
Poles’ answer was short and to the point, but the response spoke volumes about the front office’s approach to the coaching carousel and how they feel about their staff already in house.
Harbaugh will be the hot commodity most subpar NFL teams will be attempting to recruit, so it’s a bit jarring that Poles did not even entertain the idea. Only time will tell if Poles’ unwavering confidence in Eberflus will doom or save the team.