6 days Ago
The Chicago Bears have struggled after a 4-2 start, dropping three straight games before hosting the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon. But as ESPN's Adam Schefter pointed out, the Bears may not need a victory to stay in the NFC playoff picture; They could need a win to help head coach Matt Eberflus avoid history. Schefter sent out a post on X Sunday morning that noted the Bears have fired their head coach in the same year they used a first-round pick on a quarterback in each of the past two occasions.
Related: Bears vs. Packers: Keys to watch, predictions for NFC North matchup Follow us on Facebook In 2017, the Bears selected Mitchell Trubisky with the second overall pick in the draft. Chicago went 5-11 a few months later and head coach John Fox was fired, clearing the way for Matt Nagy.
Nagy came in and led Trubisky and the Bears in his first season but he also needed a quarterback eventually. Chicago took another swing in the 2021 draft by trading up for Justin Fields but Fields also didn't develop quickly enough, leading the Bears to a 6-11 record during his rookie season and costing Nagy his job. Fast forwarding to Sunday afternoon, Eberflus could be on the same path.
The Bears showed promise after five of their final eight games to finish last season with a 7-10 record and were able to select Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, acquired in a trade with the Carolina Panthers for the first pick in the 2023 draft. Things appeared to fall into the Bears' favor but Williams hasn't adapted as quickly as Chicago hoped.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport wrote on Sunday that Williams wasn't asked a lot of the things that the Bears have asked him to do during his rookie season at USC including using his cadence to his advantage, identifying pass protections and checking into the proper play at the line of scrimmage. It's resulted in an up-and-down rookie season for Williams, who threw four touchdowns during an Oct. 13 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in London but has posted a quarterback rating under 70 in each of the three games during the Bears' current losing streak.
Related: Chicago Bears injury report: 2 out, 2 questionable The Bears fired first-year offensive coordinator Shane Waldron earlier this week and Rapoport says the Bears are planning to simplify the offense for Williams as opposed to benching him like the Indianapolis Colts did with Anthony Richardson, giving him a breather and letting him return when he's ready to go. But even if the Bears look better on offense, it may not be enough to save Eberflus's job after the Waldron hiring failed and a controversial decision that led to a Hail Mary on an Oct. 27 loss to the Washington Commanders.
With a franchise quarterback in place, firing Waldron may have been a last resort for Eberflus, who may not be able to outrun the Bears' recent trend. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images.
