Note: OC Luke Getsy was released by the Chicago Bears while this analysis was being written.

The Chicago Bears just finished their second season under the reigns of Matt Eberflus and Luke Getsy, accumulating a 7-10 record throughout the season. Over the past two seasons, the Bears went 10-24, of which two of those wins being against teams with a winning record. Although the Bears boasted the #1 rushing defense for the 2023-2024 season (with 86.4 rushing yards per game allowed), their leadership has caused much controversy in the Windy City for all the wrong reasons: many fans believe that the Eberflus-Getsy duo is significantly hindering the development of QB Justin Fields and is inept of calling logical offensive plays (with even some suggesting to remove the front office entirely and start off fresh again). With all the headlines the current coaching staff is bringing, should the Chicago Bears fire Eberflus & Getsy… or let them stay around longer so that they can develop their rosters?

The poor performance is reflected in Justin Fields, where his average passer rating in the past two seasons was an 85.8 (for context, the league average passer rating was about 89.1 for the same seasons). Some fans may argue about Justin Fields’ running ability, but even his rushing performance also decreased this season (from 7.1 yards per attempt in the 2022 season to 5.3 yards per attempt this season). It’s obvious that Justin Fields is not developing, and the Bears’ coaching staff is to blame for this discrepancy. Could it take more time for Justin Fields to develop his talents? Certainly, but this chance to develop more with Eberflus comes at a massive risk – a risk that might ruin Fields’ career entirely. On the other hand, hiring a new coaching staff can also be detrimental to Justin Fields: switching offensive schemes multiple times throughout his career can cause him to regress due to relearning new playbooks and readjusting play styles. But, these changes can also pay off if Fields is surrounded by the right staff. Such changes can be no more apparent than QB Jared Goff, who at one point was called a lost cause due to his mediocrity with Sean McVay but experienced a career revelation when being traded to a Dan Campbell-led Detroit Lions. Ultimately, the quarterback is only one piece of the pie when it comes to NFL teams, but we don’t want to see another Mitch Trubisky situation happening again in Chicago.

Next up: the Chicago Bears offense as a whole. In the 2022 season, the Bears offense placed 28th in the league, where they boasted the best rushing offense but also retaining the worst passing offense. Such a emphasis on running plays can backfire in certain games and will cause polarizing differences between some games. However, the reliance on the rushing offense has caused much havoc for Chicago, where they had placed 23rd in points scored in 2022, and 18th for points scored in 2023. At first, this performance may not sound alarming, but the missing factor is that the Bears had the 6th easiest strength of schedule for the 2023 season. Additionally, the Bears also received much more help in this season, where they drafted OL Darnell Wright at the 10th overall pick and traded the 1st overall pick for Panthers WR D.J. Moore (and other picks). It seems more and more clear that the other pieces of the pie aren’t fitting for the Chicago offense. Again, only time will tell where the development of the young talent will head.

Considering the pros and cons of the coaching regime, it’s safe to say that there should be some coaching change (for example, firing OC Luke Getsy), but undergoing a massive overhaul could do more damage than good. Matt Eberflus has proved that he is capable of running the Chicago Bears’ defense even after the resignation of their DC Alan Williams, so just finding the right coaching fit with Eberflus can help resolve some of the ongoing issues. Matt Eberflus is here to stay, but Luke Getsy is not.

[Image courtesy of Nam Huh of the Associated Press]