Bear Digest

Matt Eberflus polled worst NFL coach in a vote by Bears players

The former Bears coach and staff took a beating at the hands of their former players when the NFLPA conducted its annual survey of the rank and file.
Gene Chamberlain|
Bears Darrell Taylor and Jake Martin clean out their lockers at Halas Hall after the season ended. The Bears players' expanded locker room remains a positive in the minds' of players polled.
Bears Darrell Taylor and Jake Martin clean out their lockers at Halas Hall after the season ended. The Bears players' expanded locker room remains a positive in the minds' of players polled. | Gene Chamberlain Photo / Chicago Bears On SI

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Chicago Bears

It's probably not surprising and might seem a bit like kicking the dead horse, but former Bears coach Matt Eberflus didn't exactly get rated high by players on the annual NFLPA report card.

The union released results and while Eberflus drew a "C" grade overall, he was ranked last in the league by players.

Only 59% of Bears players felt their former coach was efficient with their time, and they gave him a rank that landed him 30th out of 32 in this regard. The union reported players said Eberflus was moderately receptive to locker room feedback on the team’s needs, ranking him 31 of 32.

While Eberflus and his staff took a beating, ownership received a surprisingly high mark, or maybe not so surprisingly considering how receptive they have been to change lately and to being aggressive in addressing problems.

The players gave the George McCaskey family ownership an "A-" grade and the marks landed them 13th among NFL team owners league-wide.

The McCaskey family's willingness to invest in their facilities was given 9.03 out of 10 from the Bears players, a ranking of 14 out of 32 owners, and players scored the owners 15th out of 32nd for positive team culture.

The best Bears marks came for their locker room and weight room, which also isn't surprising because of the great expense the organization went to in a costly renovation to their facilities, more than doubling the size of Halas Hall in 2019.

The locker room is ranked eighth in the league and the weight room sixth. The weight room received and "A" grade and locker room "A-".

Ownership, the locker room and the weight room were the only "A" grades they had.

The food and dining area at Halas Hall was relatively low at 22nd overall and had a "C+", although this is better than some of their rankings in past years.

The players rated the dining area 8.64 of 10, which made it 15th out of 32. Their food was rated 23rd out of 32 for taste and 24th out of 32 for freshness.

One area the team frequently took a beating in the past with these polls was how they treated players' families, and while it wasn't high league-wise it was better than in some past polls. 

They graded "C+" for treatment of families and ranked 19th of 32. They were rated 24th of 32 for organizing family events and 23rd of 32 for postgame family areas.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.