Bear Digest

Matt Eberflus Takes Full Responsibility for Bears Offensive Failures

Naming a third offensive coordinator in three seasons only underscores the problems the Bears have had in figuring out how to play "complementary football" under current head coach.
Gene Chamberlain|
Probably being more heaviliy scrutinized than in-game decision is Matt Eberflus' hiring choices with his coaching staffs.
Probably being more heaviliy scrutinized than in-game decision is Matt Eberflus' hiring choices with his coaching staffs. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Bear coach Matt Eberflus let the buck stop the only place it could after his decision to fire offensive coordinator Shane Waldron before naming Thomas Brown the new play caller.

He's the boss who hired Waldron, also hired Luke Getsy and now has Brown calling plays starting Sunday at Soldier Field against Green Bay. And all of this in less than three years.

"It's right there where it is, right?" Eberflus said of the responsibility for Bears play-calling failure. "Third play-caller and I take full accountability for that. I take full responsibility for that, and it's got to get better. It's gotta get better.

"The details of creativity have to improve and it's got to improve this week."

Over the last three weeks, the Bears rank last in yards per play (3.7), third-down conversions (15%), completion percentage (50.5%), average scoring (9.0 points) and first in sacks allowed (18).

The Bears thought they were over this type of thing when they hired Waldron and have fired him nine games into the season.

"You know, to me, it's about what is happening right now," Eberflus said. "And again, obviously when you're there, you're saying you are making a great decision there (to hire Waldron) and it's what's happening right now.

"We have really struggled the last three weeks and I just thought for the best thing right now for the Bears, OK, for our football team, where we are in the season was to make that adjustment."

Eberflus sought to shoot down one report he was going to bring back Waldron as late as Monday. He said he was still weighing a decision until Tuesday morning, and then fired the former Seattle coordinator.

"So, like I said, I stood here on Monday and talked about that and I took the whole process on Monday and I made the decision on Tuesday morning," Eberflus said. "I informed Shane at that time and brought Thomas in after that and informed him. And then we were going from there."

What the Bears are hoping to see from the play-calling of Brown is more scoring chances. The team reached the end zone with regularity when it could get to the red zone, ranking eighth in TD percentage despite the Doug Kramer goal-line debacle and the option toss outside that netted minus-12 yards on fourth-and-a-foot against the Colts.

"What I'm looking for in the offense is creativity," Eberflus said. "Working the guys into open positions on the field. And that takes creativity. But it takes everybody. Working with everybody to get that done—if it's (line coach) Chris (Morgan), the running backs coach, whoever it might be, using everybody to really do a good job to create that openness in space to get our athletes in that area. To me it's always about that."

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Eberflus denied reports he was asked by players to replace Bagent or to replace QB Caleb Williams, although he did talk to them. The decision was all his.

"They (players) just want to do more," Eberflus said. "They just want to do more. They want to be more productive. More effective. Score points for our football team. Just do more as a group and then more individually in terms of helping the group.

"(Player input) was always in a winning way. A respectful way. It was always in that light. And to me it was really, really good to see that they really wanted to get better."

 Eberflus' decision on Brown seemed a natural and was expected when it became apparent Waldron would no longer call plays. Brown was passing game coordinator and last year offensive coordinator for most of Carolina's games.
"(He) brings passion and energy, tenacity, toughness, collaboration," Eberflus said. "You could certainly see that yesterday during the game-planning phase of using all the minds and everybody (on the staff) there.
"I thought that was excellent to see with those guys working together to get to the best answers for our first- and second-down gameplanning and our third down working in to today."
The Bears have squandered a chance to be better than 4-5 against the softer temas on their schedule and Brown gets to begin calling plays against the Packers, who have won 10 straight over Chicago. It's unlikely the buck stops with anyone else besides Eberflus if the losing continues.

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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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.