Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles said in January that he didn’t reach out to Jim Harbaugh because he was the head coach of Michigan. There was another top football coach in the state who wanted the Bears head coaching job.
Instead, Poles retained Matt Eberflus after a 10-24 record in his first two seasons with Chicago. The Bears hired two new coordinators for the 2024 season as they prepared to restart the organization’s life cycle with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams.
Matt Eberflus is on the hot seat
The results have been mixed through the first seven games. The Bears are 4-3 entering Week 9, but they could have more wins. The main problem stopping a talented roster from being more competitive in the NFC isn’t their rookie quarterback, it’s the coaching staff.
Multiple players came out and criticized Eberflus for his decision-making at the end of the Bears’ 18-15 loss to the Washington Commanders. Following comments made this week by safety Kevin Byard, cornerback Jaylon Johnson, and tight end Cole Kmet, there is smoke around the idea that Eberflus’ job isn’t safe despite a winning record thus far in 2024.
Ben Johnson wanted the Chicago Bears HC job
© Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
During a guest appearance on ESPN 1000, Sports Illustrated‘s Albert Breer told David Kaplan that Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson wanted the Bears head coaching job in the 2024 offseason.
“There were some who said that was the one [Johnson] wanted,” Breer said.
All rights @ESPN1000 @kapjhood @thekapman @adamabdalla @xjhoodespn "There were some who said that was the one he wanted" #BenJohnson #DaBears #Eberflus pic.twitter.com/eI9v9CuRHz
— Bearlissimo (@Bearlissimo1) October 29, 2024
Johnson would return to coach the Lions for the 2024 season after withdrawing his name for consideration for the Commanders and Seattle Seahawks head coaching vacancies.
Johnson has been credited for helping revive Jared Goff’s NFL career in Detroit. Johnson’s offense ranked in the top for the 2022 season and had a top-three offense in 2023.
The Lions are 6-1 this season and lead the NFC North in points with 234 through their first seven games. Detroit averages the most points per game (33.4) in the league this season. That is 3.1 points per game more than the second-place Baltimore Ravens.
Breers’ report will make some why Poles didn’t replace Eberflus with Johnson in the same offseason he knew Chicago would draft a quarterback. The third-year general manager could rectify the mistake by hiring Johnson before the 2025 season.
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