The article “Tom Brady shares philosophy that benefits Bears keeping Matt Eberflus” first ran on NBC Sports Chicago.
After firing offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, the Bears controversially decided to keep head coach Matt Eberflus in place for the remainder of the offseason.
In his sophomore year, Eberflus was unimpressive. Numerous commentators and outsiders demanded that Eberflus be fired for a long list of reasons. Additionally, Bears supporters feel they should have dared to dream greater because the coaching free agent market is as strong as it has been recently (Bill Belichick, Jim Harbaugh, Mike Vrabel, etc.).
That was not true. However, Tom Brady, one of the all-time great quarterbacks, believes that the Bears’ decision to keep Eberflus may not have been the worst one.
Regarding coaching, Brady stated on the GOFORIT YouTube channel, “I think the important thing about hiring and firing and all this is continuity is the key to the NFL.” “The more stability you have, whether it’s in the NFL or NBA, the more you can improve things over time. It’s difficult to cover the problems that arise in football every week. Situational football, crucial third down scenarios, crucial red area plays, the beginning of the game, the end of the quarters, and when to use timeouts are all important aspects of football games. These are all things that must be developed.
“Trying to learn a language is similar to this. For a year, you will study English. In what way will your second year go? Better. In what way will your third year unfold? Much better. Are you in your fourth year? Better. What if you had to change your language every year? You spend a year studying English. Alright, let’s go back to studying French now. Now, let’s move on to the Chinese language. All right, we will now switch to German. Alright, let’s move on to Spanish. Building up any of that continuity and consistency is quite difficult.”
Contrary to popular belief, the Bears did not keep Eberflus on staff indefinitely. Throughout the second half of the season, he significantly enhanced their defense. He played a significant role in the Bears’ late-season run that saw them win five of their last eight games and their final five at home.
Sadly, Eberflus and his team fell short in a number of ways. The Bears also sacked head coach of quarterbacks Andrew Janocko, head coach of running backs Omar Young, head coach of wide receivers Tyke Tolbert, and assistant tight ends coach Tim Zetts in addition to Getsy, Williams, and Walker.
And there’s the whole Chase Claypool thing. The young wide receiver’s talent was showing signs of decline, and Ryan Poles was forced to deal him to the Miami Dolphins for less money than they had originally paid for him. Poles bears some of the responsibility, but the coaches also failed to assist him.
Not to mention quarterback Justin Fields’ lack of progress. He was unable to convince the Bears that he deserves to be their starting signal caller for another season. Once more, Fields is solely responsible for his own performance, although coaching also has an impact.
These elements combined to justify Eberflus’s termination for a number of commentators and outsiders. However, Brady noted that consistency is a key component of NFL coaching. The organization is forced to press the reset button when the head coach does.
Bears aren’t prepared to take that on.
However, they will restart in the offensive division. The quarterback will need to pick up a new offense regardless of whether the Bears keep Fields or select a different player in the draft. The new offensive coordinator for the team, Shane Waldron, is bringing his own playbook and approach.
Even though the Bears experienced some offensive continuity loss, they also created some by keeping Eberflus. There is a rationale for that decision, even though it may not be the best one for the company.