The Chicago Bears' 2023-24 season started with a disappointing annihilation at the hands of their arch rival Green Bay Packers. The season ended with a disappointing annihilation at the hands of their arch rival Green Bay Packers.
In between those games we saw it all. The Bears more than doubled their win total, but gave up multiple fourth quarter leads in historic fashion. The defense showed glimpses of something special, but could not stay healthy. The offense could beat teams they were supposed to, but folded when the bright lights were on. All of this is true, but when the season is bookended with losses to the team up north, disastrous is the only word that can come to mind.
And disastrous has been the word for quite some time now. As another year comes to a close with the Bears not beating the Packers and not making the playoffs, it's hard to find light at the end of the tunnel - even while holding the top pick in the draft and plenty of cap space - because fans find it hard to trust anyone.
It takes a lot of boots on the ground, from players and coaches to executive staff, to put a football franchise together and to have it run well. However, sometimes a few bad eggs can derail the whole system. That's what the Bears feel like.
Here are three people who are to blame for another failure of a year in Chicago.
1. Head Coach Matt Eberflus is On the Hot Seat
Head Coach Matt Eberflus is probably shaking his head and wondering why others are coming after him right now. He took a three-win team last year and turned it into a seven-win team this year, finishing just about where everyone expected. There are a lot of other places that would take that as a promising stepping stone toward a bright future, but not here in Chicago.
Eberflus is responsible for a couple of historically (as in - never been done before) bad fourth quarter collapses this year that should have been wins and should have had the Bears in the playoffs. He handpicked a coordinator in Alan Williams to lead and build a defensive unit, but he ended up being dishonorably released for reasons we are still not sure of. And to top it all off, he is now 0-4 as a head coach against the rival Packers.
In total Bears fashion, they are keeping the details of Eberflus' contract under wraps, but it is rumored to be a four-year deal. That doesn't mean the Bears cannot cut ties and pay to break the deal, but it seems unlikely. If Eberflus is going to have to take responsibility for this year's failures, gather up all his tactics and fun phrases, and figure out how to get this team to the playoffs if he is to stick around.
2. Luke Getsy should not be around next year.
The buck doesn't stop with the head coach.
Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy completely mismanaged this offense and wasted another year of quarterback Justin Fields' talents, possibly sending him out the door, too.
We probably saw more failed and mistimed screen passes this year alone than the Bears have total franchise victories. Getsy had our smallest wide receivers on the line blocking for slow-developing plays. His seemed totally unaware of the phrase "situational football." What he did to this offense this year should be criminal.
Getsy came from Green Bay in 2022, serving as offensive quality control in one stint and the quarterbacks coach in another. The argument and conspiracy can be made that he is still employed up there and was sent to Chicago to sabotage and make sure the Bears continue to fail on the offensive side of the ball.
The Chicago Bears franchise invented the act of the forward pass, but they are the only franchise to never have a 4,000-yard passer in a season. For over three decades, we witnessed a passing clinic happening in Green Bay. Then, we took their guy, and nothing? Is the fix in, or is it just another curse?
Whatever the case may be, after two years of nothing new under Getsy, his time in Chicago should be finished immediately.
3. Eddie Jackson Was Nearly Non-Existent
When safety Eddie Jackson came on the scene in 2017, Bears fans had such high hopes that the Monsters of the Midway might be forming back up.
In 2018, it was happening. Jackson had 6 interceptions, including a couple that were run back for touchdowns. But after following that up with a Pro Bowl year in 2019, everything came to a screeching halt.
Jackson had a career high in tackles (82) in 2020, but that was about it. He went two full seasons without an interception. A little bit of a bounce back last year had us believing he was about to be the Pro Bowler he was before, but that was not to be.
Jackson played 12 games this year with 1 lone interception and only 38 tackles. He misplayed the ball on multiple occasions, giving up massive plays to the opposition.
This was a contract year for Jackson, and it did not go nearly as planned for him. He was a sore spot on the defense that was more of a liability than anything. Unless he intends on taking a hometown deal and a back seat to younger talent, we may have seen the last of Jackson in Chicago.
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