The Chicago Bears players aren’t happy after the seaosn
The Chicago Bears head into the offseason with the most losses in a single season in franchise history. That’s not the way many players thought the season would go, and some players are reportedly upset about it. Head coach Matt Eberflus wanted to change the culture in the offseason. He wanted to “win” at all costs during the season.
But the Bears have not won a game since knocking off the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football in October. Instead of Eberflus’ “H.I.T.S.” system elevating the team to more wins than advertised by the national media, the Bears finished with the worst record in the NFL. As was predicted.
According to a report by Courtney Cronin with ESPN, defensive tackle Justin Jones said the Bears players will use their exit meetings to air their grievanceswith the staff.
“A lot of guys feel different ways. A lot of guys are on one-year deals here, so the season didn’t go the way they planned it to. Some guys are frustrated, some guys just want clarification on certain things. You have to give them the answer they are looking for, you have to tell them exactly what it was and the thing they could have been better at. And go about the business like that.”
Bears DT Justin Jones said exit meetings are "healthy for both sides." Matt Eberflus said he and Ryan Poles would meet w/ players today.
Jones on how those went: "A lot of guys feel different ways. A lot of guys are on one-year deals here, so the season didn't go the way they
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) January 9, 2023
"planned it to. Some guys are frustrated, some guys just want clarification on certain things. You have to give them the answer they are looking for, you have to tell them exactly what it was and the thing they could have been better at. And go about the business like that."
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) January 9, 2023
Things went south after two trades by the Chicago Bears
According to Cronin, Jones mentioned the Robert Quinn and Roquan Smith trades were moves that handicapped the defense’s production. Jones, a member of the defensive line, was part of the worst front line in the NFL this season. The defensive line looked pretty bad with Quinn, but they were disastrously worse without him. And while those trades will help the Chicago Bears in the future, players like Jones risked their bodies trying to win this season after the coaching staff preached to them to buy into the program.
There was also questionable playcalling along the way from the freshmen coaching staff. The Bears lifted their foot off the pedal in the second half when they had a sizable lead over the Green Bay Packers and were within striking distance of icing a win over their rival.
Will free agents want to sign with this staff for next season?
It’ll be an interesting offseason for the Bears. Previously skeptical players like Jaylon Johnson seemed to buy into Eberflus’ system early in the season when they had some success. However, with many players on one-year deals, we’ll see how many of them want to re-sign for another season in Chicago after the way the dominoes fell by early January. Possible free agent targets will be looking at what’s going on with Eberflus’ culture as well.
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