On Wednesday, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus announced the dismissal of Luke Getsy, the offensive coordinator, Andrew Janocko, the quarterbacks coach, Tyke Tolbert, the receivers coach, Omar Young, the running backs coach, and assistant tight ends coach Tim Zetts.
This afternoon at 3 p.m. (CT), the Bears will host a press conference at the PNC Center at Halas Hall. Kevin Warren, president and chief executive officer, will speak after general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus.
In what will be a crucial offseason, the Chicago Bears have made the first two decisions: they have fired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and brought back coach Matt Eberflus for the 2024 campaign.
ESPN was informed by sources that the Bears decided to retain Eberflus following lengthy conversations on Monday and Tuesday.
Getsy and four other offensive assistants, including wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert, running backs coach Omar Young, assistant tight ends coach Tim Zetts, and quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko, were fired, the Bears announced on Wednesday afternoon.
A press conference with Eberflus, general manager Ryan Poles, and team president Kevin Warren is set for this Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET.
Three days have passed since Eberflus and Getsy’s second season with the Bears came to an end. The Bears finished with a 7-10 record, but they showed potential in the last six games as they won four of them.
After serving as an NFL defensive assistant coach for the past 13 years, including a four-year stint as the Colts’ defensive coordinator from 2018 to 2021, Eberflus is 10-24 in his two seasons with Chicago.
This season, Chicago’s offense made progress, but ultimately, it was insufficient to allow Chicago to go with Getsy.
This offseason, the Bears must make a crucial choice about their quarterback: should they select a rookie with the first overall pick or continue with Justin Fields, who will begin his fourth season?
Discussions regarding the offensive identity the Bears want to have in 2024 start in Halas Hall at the same time as plans for the quarterback position.
Throughout the 2023 season, players’ dissatisfaction with the offense was evident on multiple occasions. It started in Week 3, when Fields blamed his “robotic” play on “coaching”. Wide receiver DJ Moore added that Chicago lost because there weren’t enough reliable, high-scoring plays.
According to ESPN Stats & Information research, Chicago’s offense scored 17.4 points per game (20.4), their highest total since finishing 11th in 2018. The Bears had the second-best running offense in the NFL (141.1 YPG), but their passing output dropped from 32nd to 27th place (182.1 yards per game).
The Bears’ season came to an end with a 17-9 loss in Green Bay, their second straight game without a touchdown since Week 12. In its last three road games, the offense managed only one touchdown in total, and in ten games, it was limited to 20 points or fewer.
The offense scored 37 touchdowns in 17 games, good for a tie for 20th place in the NFL, and was 19th in yards per attempt (6.7), 19th in success rate (41.6%), and 21st in EPA/play (-0.052).