A new report Saturday morning from The Athletic dispels the notion Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles will get the final say in whether the team retains head coach Matt Eberflus for the 2024 season.
Eberflus is reported to be on the hot seat entering Week 18. Ian Rapoport with the NFL Network said the Bears were expected to retain Eberflus if the team finished strong at the end of the season. President Kevin Warren reiterated that thought Friday and suggested the outcome of Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers could play a major factor in the front officer’s final decision on Eberflus.
The final decision won’t be in Poles’ hands.
The Chicago Bears ownership will decide Eberflus’ fate
According to Dianna Russini with The Athletic, Bears ownership will make the final decision on Eberflus’ job status with the help of Warren’s input. Poles’ name wasn’t seen anywhere in Russini’s report:
“Team CEO/president Kevin Warren has been watching, taking notes and evaluating his head coach and team all season. Though ownership will have the final say on the future of Matt Eberflus and staff, Warren will have a strong hand in the decision. Warren recently shared that he appreciates the energy of the team around Halas Hall but offered no endorsements of his head coach.
So what can we expect from Warren? He hasn’t made any knee-jerk decisions this season, giving the staff the entire regular season to show they are the right group. He’s described as methodical. Unemotional. A planner.
His decisions are all being made with a long-term approach, so while Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers feels huge for the staff and quarterback Justin Fields, I don’t believe one game is going to move the needle either way.”
The Packers game having so much influence over Eberflus’s job makes sense if ownership is making the decision. Bears ownership doesn’t like losing to the Packers, and they could make an emotional decision on Eberflus depending on how Sunday’s game goes.
Is Ryan Poles on the hot seat?
Poles backed Eberflus through much of this season, especially when the Bears had two members of their staff part ways with the team in the middle of the season. However, Poles did pepper criticisms of Eberflus’ coaching, suggesting the staff needed to clean things up and didn’t utilize star players such as Montez Sweat properly.
It’s fair to wonder why Poles don’t have a major role in the Bears’ decision on Eberflus. After all, player and coaching personnel fall under the scope of an NFL general manager’s job description.
There were rumors midseason that Warren could clean house by firing Poles and Eberflus. Is that idea still on the table if the Packers beat the Bears on Sunday?
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