The season is getting hotter now. The playoff race has begun. A couple of wins or losses could eliminate teams. The Chicago Bears are sitting on the fence. After 9 weeks, they are 4-4. That’s an alarming situation. Fans are asking who’s responsible, and most others are pointing their fingers one way: toward the head coach, Matt Eberflus. Even a few players believe he is not good enough to lead them (despite what they may say, per Mike Florio).

Sometimes, very complex situations can be broken down with a simple question. For a leader, what is the most important thing? Respect certainly ranks high on that. Mike Florio and Michael Holley made a very interesting observation on the November 6 episode of the Pro Football Talk show.

Florio played a recording of Bears wide receiver DJ Moore, who was asked, “You lose two games in a row in the manner with which you have lost them, and you start to wonder from the outside, ‘Has Matt Eberflus lost his football team?” After a close 15-18 loss to the Commanders two weeks ago, it seemed like the Bears carried that hangover into their Week 9 game against the Cardinals. Because Chicago lost pretty convincingly (9-29).

What was Moore’s response? “I wanna say no. The message yesterday was, ‘We know we’re 4 in 4 now. It’s just like being 0-0.’ But we just got to go out there and start stacking wins like we did, and that’s the best thing we can do.” After starting their season with a win and two losses to follow, the Bears went on a winning streak from Week 4 to Week 6, defeating the Rams, Panthers, and Jaguars to go into their bye week with positive momentum. But now that they’ve lost it all, Moore and the rest of the team are focused on getting back to winning ways. But will it be under Matt Eberflus?

According to Mike Florio, DJ Moore’s non-commital answer was indication enough. On the Pro Football Talk show, he said, “There are certain questions that you’re asked that you’ve got two choices. You can unequivocally state your position in a way that pushes back against the thing that has been articulated. Or, you can say something that is ambiguous and vague and confirm that thing is true.” DJ Moore went down the ‘vague’ path.

“If he hasn’t lost the locker room, DJ Moore needs to be p-ssed that the question was even asked. ‘Of course, he hasn’t lost the locker room. Of course, he hasn’t. Why would you even ask that question? This is why we don’t like the media,'” the analyst said. “That’s the kind of reaction, not, ‘Well, I wanna say no.'” Mocking the wide receiver’s response, Florio added, “‘I wanna say no, but my mouth is saying yes.'” 

As for Matt Eberflus, his record also doesn’t inspire confidence. Since he took over as the head coach in 2022, the team has finished at the bottom of their decision NFC North. This year, too, they are currently fourth. Things don’t look good for the head coach, especially after how the last couple of games have played out. In fact, do you know the Bears players even asked Eberflus to show some accountability after their loss to the Commanders?

ESPN’s Courtney Cronin reported, “Bears players asked for the same accountability from Chicago’s coaching staff that is expected of them in games following a disastrous loss in Washington that they aim to move past with a win in Arizona.” Well, that win against the Cardinals didn’t come, but did Eberflus take accountability? Not quite.

When the Bears were down 21-9 at halftime, what did he say in an interview with CBS? “This is the score, but we have each other.” As was evident from the final score, “having each other” didn’t prove to be enough. So, will he get fired? It’s likely. But something surprising recently popped up about Matt Eberflus.

While there were reports of him being on a 4-year contract with the Bears, the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Briggs claimed the head coach had a 5-year contract till the 2026 season. However, he also couldn’t guarantee if that would stop the Bears management from removing him. There’s another thing that has put them in the danger zone. His handling of the rookie quarterback Caleb Williams.

Has Matt Eberflus mismanaged his quarterback?

This year, the Bears have been in the spotlight since the draft. Their first-round pick was Caleb Williams. Fans were expecting a good contest between him, the Commanders’ Jayden Williams, and the Patriots‘ Drake Maye. After 9 weeks, with a 7-2 win-loss record, Daniels is the clear winner. Maye hasn’t gotten enough chances and has a 1-3 record in 4 games.

The blame for Williams’ inability to cope with pressure is being put on Matt Eberflus. Da Eber Floozies believes he should have been more cautious and had follow-ups with the offensive coordinator, Shane Waldron. But the O-line is more at fault here. The coach has been trying to revive the team. However, his moves have backfired.

While Moore put the coach on the spot, he also gave the reason behind such rumors. The team isn’t winning. Only one thing can make the naysayers eat their words: a playoff spot (which, truth be told, looks out of reach. But we’ve seen stranger things happen in the NFL world)! As Mike Florio said, “We’re into the months of the season where owners start thinking about what they’re gonna do when the season ends. They don’t wait till the day after the regular season finale to say, ‘I think I’ll fire my coach.’ Those seeds are planted in November. They’re acted on in December. So, Eberflus needs to turn this around now.”

With all said and done, each game has become important. On November 10, it would be a matchup of rookies. Williams vs Maye. Will Week 10 secure the coach’s job or put it more in danger? We’ll find out soon.