Bears Coaches Must Prove They Can Close

It's not yet time to remove Matt Eberflus from beneath the microscope.

The time could be very close at hand, though.

Eberflus has proven he can do pretty much everything as head coach to be successful and the most important thing of all is that his ideas for leading a team even amid the worst circumstances.

If Eberflus and his HITS system were going to fail, a 2-7 record was the place for it to happen. It didn't.

Instead, they're still talking about playoffs, no matter how silly the notion with two-thirds of the NFC still ahead of them in the wild card standings.

They're still together as a team. They still play with the energy a team needs for winning streaks. It all still matters.

Eberflus and these Bears kept fighting and still have that fighting energy.

“Yeah, I mean, the energy has always been good," Eberflus said Friday. "The energy's been great. I commend the guys for that.

"They've always, being able to reset, you know. It's just a little faster to reset when you have victory, you know what I’m saying? And fix your mind on the next opponent and fix your mind on fundamentals, fix your mind on your playmaking ability and what you're going to get done in the future. And that's always been our mantra. And it's just a little bit harder sometimes when you lose tough losses, you know, in order like that."

If you need an example of a team unable to maintain this energy, examine game film of the Chargers and the Raiders from Thursday night. The Chargers had the energy of a dead light bulb. It's why former Bears defensive assistant Brandon Staley now needs a new job. The Chargers looked nothing like the team the Bears lost to earlier. Of course, they didn't have Justin Herbert but that entire team had quit. The Bears could have done this themselves when Tyson Bagent played quarterback, but they kept playing hard and won twice.

Having eliminated the division losing streak hanging over them and all other losing streaks, the Bears have momentum and a winning streak.

Losing to the Browns in Cleveland is expected by most observers because no one seems able to beat Cleveland on its own field except Baltimore. If it doesn't happen, and the Bears actually handle another playoff favorite, even what happens in the Green Bay game at season's end might become easier to ignore.

There still could be a couple tests yet for Eberflus before thinking about what he'll do in the off-season about the defensive coordinator position and the eternal Justin Fields question.

Here are some scenarios where the Bears might need to still think carefully about what they do with the coaching staff.

Essentially, the Bears players have proven they are closers by the way they finished games with the Lions and Vikings. Now the coaching staff needs to prove it can finish a season right or be finished themselves.

1. Quitting After a Loss to Browns

If they lost this game and suffered playoff elimination, could Eberflus keep the team focused enough to come out on Christmas Eve and beat a bad Arizona team which looks to be playing better than earlier in the year? The playoff carrot is pretty enticing for players right now, even if it is currently from so far a distance away that they can barely see it. Remove it entirely and it's always possible the Bears suffer the big Christmas Eve letdown and also lose to a team still in the running for first draft pick.

Are the kids still interested in Christmas if they know Santa isn't coming? The Bears would know they're not getting the chance at that playoff game under the tree and it might become a real challenge for Eberflus to keep someone interested enough.

In other words, that energy dip Eberflus talked about being able to avoid so far might actually still occur.

2. Quitting in Green Bay

There could be no worse fate than a blowout loss at Green Bay to end the season. If they make it through all of this with victories or even if they lose to Cleveland and win over Atlanta and Arizona, a blowout loss in Green Bay would make so much of what has happened this year seem hollow. They would have started and finished with blowout losses to the Packers. It would seem they're right where they started off. Green Bay is sitting in a good situation to make the playoffs one year after it couldn't make them with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. The thought of losing badly to the Packers and how their rivals would be right back in the playoffs could become a tipping point.

If the Packers somehow have been eliminated at that point and the Bears are still blown out by them, then there really needs to be an examination of the entire organization. If neither team has anything to play for but pride and you get blown out by a rival, someone better get axed. Maybe everyone.

3. Losing Streak

If they go on a losing streak at any point now it would have to be considered reason to revisit the future for their staff. They've come too far to lose a game to Arizona and then lose one to the team employing Ryan Pace. Losing to Atlanta and Green Bay might be reason for this, too, although it's possible both the Packers and Falcons are going to be playoff teams and it could be considered a little harsh to expect someone to be fired, especially if they actually beat Cleveland and then lose two games to playoff teams.

That's why this game against the Browns can be the key to almost everything still to come.

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