On this weeks episode we give Kendrick Lamar his flowers for his performance at the Super Bowl, our thoughts on the game, the news reporter that died trying to buy coochie, Josh Allens DEI MVP and a ton more.
Kendrick Lamar's Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show has created a lot of Social Media conversation. How does Some Dude feel about the show and the Super Bowl?
Was Pat Mahomes being called the Goat premature? How was Mike's trip to the Royal Rumble and our mental health check.
Scott, Bang, Merk & Pav kick off the pod reminiscing on old video games & how the rules differed back in the day which leads to a conversation about who were the guys favorite random athletes growing up. Scott gives his predictions for what he feels will be Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl set, was Snoop wrong for associating his self with Trump, the Mayor of Dolton is wildin again & more.
Pic by Scott Lewis
It’s January 29th, 2025, and the Chicago Bears have done the unthinkable. Well, let me specify: they have done what was once considered impossible for them. The Bears are a franchise that has been mired in mediocrity for quite some time, with one of their biggest issues being the inability to hire the “right” head coach. But for what feels like the first time ever, the Bears made that right move. Former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is now the head coach of your Chicago Bears. As someone who has covered this team for five years, I’ve had more than my fair share of moments spent shaking my head at moves that seemed baffling, if not outright foolish. Whether it was the drafting of Mitchell Trubisky or the hiring of Marc Trestman, the Bears have repeatedly muddied their storied history with questionable decisions. Yet, here we are in 2025, and the Bears are making the kind of moves that even the harshest critic has to acknowledge—if not applaud.
On January 21st, Ben Johnson was named the 20th head coach of the Chicago Bears (including the Decatur Staleys), in a move that was as obvious as it was necessary. The Bears have firsthand experience with Johnson’s offensive mind. Most fans and critics will remember the efficiency with which the Lions operated: the running back tandem of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for over 2,000 rushing yards, while quarterback Jared Goff threw for well over 4,000 yards. But for me, it’s the “stumble touchdown” that remains ingrained in my memory. Taking advantage of defenders’ natural tendency to react to a falling player, Goff faked a stumble for a wide-open touchdown. It was brilliant to see in person, and it’s plays like that that make you a believer in Ben Johnson. While his youth is a plus, it’s his innovative mind that represents exactly the kind of leadership this franchise needs to break free from its cycle of complacency. Simply put, if you had the chance to hire Johnson, you did it without hesitation. Anything less would have been executive malpractice. Even if it doesn’t work out in the long run, this was a decision rooted in logic and vision—a far cry from some of the hires we’ve seen in recent years.
Adding to the excitement are the other coaching hires. Bringing in J.T. Barrett as the quarterbacks coach was a brilliant move, and one I am going to irrationally praise. Barrett’s success at THE Ohio State (undefeated against TTUN) and his experience with the Lions give him credibility as a mentor for Williams, who will need all the support he can get. While Barrett wasn’t responsible for play-calling duties, he oversaw Jared Goff’s best years in the NFL, and that experience will be invaluable to Caleb. Adding to this already impressive coaching staff is lauded defensive coordinator and former New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen. At a time when the Bears are searching for consistency and identity on defense, Allen brings clarity and purpose to a team looking to reclaim its title as the “Monsters of the Midway.” Rounding out the hires is Declan Doyle as offensive coordinator, a former tight ends coach in Denver. This move is a bit trickier to decipher. He’s young (28 years old) and does not have a ton of NFL coaching experience (five years). That said, Ben Johnson has praised his “innovative mind,” and in a league where offensive coordinators are often top choices for head coaching positions, having a young mind to mold and shape is a good thing. All of these hires point in one direction: Ben Johnson intends to win and win now. For once, it feels like the Bears are thinking with clarity and foresight rather than making moves just for the sake of making them.
I’d be remiss, however, if I didn’t address the elephant in the room: Ryan Poles. Here at The Barber’s Chair Network, we’ve had a variety of opinions on him. Some were praiseworthy, while many were critical, with some even calling for his firing. Not long ago, Poles seemed to be on the verge of running out of goodwill. Whether it was his curious choices in coaching staff or his unconventional approach to roster-building—prioritizing skill position players over the offensive line—the criticisms were loud and, often, valid. His decision to build the team backward is something I still struggle to understand, as the Bears have consistently struggled in the trenches. However, these recent moves have given Poles an opportunity to rewrite that narrative. The offensive and defensive lines remain glaring needs, but with the right additions, he could finally provide this team with the foundation it has sorely lacked. This is where the hiring of Ben Johnson should help; Johnson’s offensive philosophy demands a strong line. You can’t have a 2,000-yard rushing attack and a 4,000-yard passer without it. The hope, both mine and that of Bears fans, is that the demands of Johnson’s offense will push Poles to make it a priority. If Poles can address this issue—and if the Bears' new staff can develop their young talent—there is reason to believe this franchise could finally turn the corner.
Covering the Bears hasn’t been easy. The losing seasons, the questionable decisions, the endless cycle of mediocrity…it’s all been exhausting. While I am forever grateful for the opportunity to cover what feels like a first love for me, it’s time for the Bears to put this plan into high gear. The feelings that Bears have now, ones they haven’t felt in a long time, need to be followed by decisive action. The fans deserve more than just hope—they deserve pride. Pride that this organization is finally making the kinds of decisions that make sense. Pride that, even if things don’t work out, they are at least taking the right kinds of risks. Pride that maybe, just maybe, the Bears are finally headed in the right direction. The road ahead is still uncertain and there are still plenty of holes to fill and narratives to change. But for now, you’ve got to give credit where it’s due: the Bears are finally doing things the right way. And for someone, like myself, who has watched this team stumble over itself time and time again, I can’t tell you how good it feels to say that.
Scott is joined by his I'm Not Gon Hold You co-host J.R. Bang (filling in for Flows) to recap Ben Johnson's introductory press conference.
The Chicago Bears have a new coach, Ben Johnson, the highly sought-after Detroit Lions Offensive Coordinator. How will this affect Bang's Bears Fandom and what are his expectations? How does Mike Feel about his Dallas Cowboys and potential Head Coaches?
We also get into a lil bit of Family talk on this weeks episode of Some Dude Pod
Scott & Flows react to the Chicago Bears naming Ben Johnson the next head coach.
Scott & Flows recap the Bears finally beating Green Bay, the end of the season pressers from Ryan Poles, Kevin Warren & George McCaskey, the Bears beginning their coaching search & who do the guys have on their coaching wishlist?
Scott & Flows are back to recap the Bears EIGHTH loss in a row, Caleb Williams hate week, has Ryan Poles reached the place of no return? plus Bears/Lions picks.
We are late but we have an opinion about a couple of items:
Jay-Z
Greatest Soft-Core Porn Movies
The Chicago Bears
Plus a mental health check.
Let me start by saying that the views and thoughts that you will read here are mine and not of Scott, nor Joseph Lewis and the good people at Barber’s Chair Network.
Maybe.
I start with that line not as a joke. Scott and Joe and do an amazing job covering the team as an independent organization, and I don’t want to jeopardize that, nor my thoughts to be mistaken for theirs. But here we go.
Chicago Bears organization, you are liars or do a good job at telling half-truths, but you’re not being honest with yourselves. You consistently talk about this “Great Tradition” that comes with the organization. I am 42 years old. On January 26, 1986, the day you won your first Super Bowl, I was three years old. You didn’t return until February 4, 2007, when you lost to the Indianapolis Colts. The Bears have appeared in the NFC Championship game 5 times since 1982. The San Francisco 49ers have 16 in the same period. Second place? The Green Bay Packers with nine.
Speaking of the Green Bay Packers, since 1982, the Chicago Bears have a record of 42 wins, 48 losses against the Green Bay Packers. Aaron Rodgers has a 24-5 record against the Bears in 29 career starts. Brett Favre had a career record of 23 wins and 13 losses against you. Remember the Chris Conte game? How about the Jay Cutler/NFC Title game?
I can go on and on, but I ask you, and I want you to be honest about yourselves; What is this Bears Tradition you speak of?
Does it come from the 1940s, when you had a record of 81 wins, 26 losses, and four NFL Championships in. 1940, 1941, 1943, and 1946? How about the 50s had a record of 70 wins, 48 losses. What about the NFL Championship team in 1963. Mike Ditka, Gale Sayers, Dick Butkus? The 70s was huff but at least we got Walter Payton in 1975!
The 80s? OMG the 80s! The decade that gave the Bears it’s only Super Bowl! One of the greatest teams of all-time that when you look at it, with only 2 NFC title appearances, you can make the argument they underachieved.
In the 90s I had to see Barry Sanders give record breaking, Highlight reel performances against the Bears. Brett Favre and the Packers emerge from the dead (shouts to God for telling Reggie White to go to Green Bay.) The 2000s gave us hope with Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and the New Monsters.
Then we get to Double Doink…
Still a touchy subject.
Failure and False hope have been a cloud over this team, until General Manager Ryan Poles made an unlikely trade that gave Chicago a number 1 wide receiver and the eventual number 1 pick in the NFL draft and “generational talent” Caleb Williams (don’t take the quotation marks as a diss). The NFL said this was the best situation for a #1 pick. With a potential top 5 defense, additions of pro bowler Keenan Allen, Rookie Rome Odunze, free agent Signing D’Andre Swift? Some people even picked the Bears to go to the Super Bowl!
What was the history the Bears made this season? Firing head coach Matt Eberflus in season, the first time the team has done that in their storied history.
Breaking Tradition. But again I ask; What tradition?
I see the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox; Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics and I see tradition. Even at their worst, they come back and win or relevant.
The Bears? McCaskey family, Kevin Warren, Media friends, lets keep it a buck; The Bears tradition since the 80s has been either underachieving or disappointing.
This historic, charter franchise has become the laughingstock of the NFL, and now have a bigger spotlight on them because this “storied” franchise hasn’t drafted franchise Quarterback in my lifetime. Caleb Williams can be the change in tradition, or be added to the list of QBs who failed here.
Y’all don’t do shit good: Draft, Coach, Staff, Develop. Nothing.
Slim Charles, one of the greatest TV Characters of all time, on my favorite show, “The Wire” had a quote that I think the Bears should adhere to; “The Thing About The Old Days Is... They Are The Old Days.”
I no longer want to hear about years when my grandmother was a toddler. I no longer want to hear about the 1963 title when my mom was a baby. I no longer want to hear about the famed 1985 squad. I want to hear about the new tradition you want to build. The changes you want to make. If you want to use “getting back to the glory days” do that. but this storied history and legacy of the Chicago Bears is just that, stories.
Another week, another loss, and another seven days of figuring out who is to blame for the current state of the Chicago Bears. Over a week ago, the Bears made an unprecedented move (for the organization, at least) and fired head coach Matt Eberflus after two and a half seasons that amounted to a win-loss record of 14-32. What cemented his firing was a clock management gaffe that saw the Bears waste two minutes off the clock and Eberflus failing to use the final timeout in his pocket. It was such a drastic error that no one inside or outside of Halas Hall assumed he would stick around. His reasoning for not using the timeout came off as more of a "dig" against rookie quarterback Caleb Williams than an admission of guilt. His exact words: “Yeah, uh... we liked the play, um, that we had. We were hoping that he was gonna... get the ball snapped, and then we would’ve called timeout.” His final post-game press conference was truly a word salad to end all word salads. Fans, pundits, and current Bears players alike knew how disastrous it was. Wide receiver Keenan Allen was even quoted after the game saying, “I feel like we did enough as players to win the game.” It was as damning an indictment against a coach and his practices as I have ever seen in my five years covering this team. Most of us on the beat knew that he was going to be fired, and while we had no sources ready to divulge his imminent firing, we knew it had to be coming. If you’ve been following and rooting for the Bears as long as I have, then you know that nothing is ever done smoothly at Halas Hall.
The next morning, I woke to an email from the Bears' communications staff with the Zoom link for Monday’s typical press conference. Unlike normal operations, we typically have the Zoom with captions that say, "HC Matt Eberflus Virtual Media Availability." For the first time, the email contained none of that. There was confusion around who was going to speak and why there had been secrecy. As sure as I live and breathe, I believed the Bears had actually done it. I was, instead, greeted with a familiar face in Matt Eberflus. He seemed to have no indication that he was being fired and proceeded to give the media a typical “coach-speak” press conference that teetered on not admitting fault while vaguely taking the blame. It was as “typical” of a Bears press conference as you can get, and it was a damning example of the incompetence that flows throughout this organization. To my surprise, however, the Bears did the unthinkable and fired Eberflus several hours later. They explained that they had been conferring all morning to make the decision and that it was not an easy one. I was too busy with my day job of being a high school teacher to attend the press conference, but Scott was there, and the only word he could use to describe it was: fear. He told me of the stunned look that rested upon General Manager Ryan Poles’s face and how CEO Kevin Warren appeared more like a disappointed father than an executive. It was emblematic of the Bears' experience: make the right move far too late and do it in an exceptionally terrible fashion. But hey, at least it happened, right? During this aftermath, offensive coordinator Thomas Brown (who himself was elevated after the Shane Waldron debacle) was promoted to interim head coach.
“What the hell did I do?” - Roger Smith - Ryan Poles
While the decision was a long time coming and absolutely necessary for the health of this fanbase and team, I can’t help but laugh at how spectacularly silly the implementation was. It’s almost as if this franchise is allergic to modernizing its football operations and behaving like an organization that knows what it’s doing. That notwithstanding, that is in the past, and the future is all I am concerned about. Well, that future is here now. The Chicago Bears played their first game of the Thomas Brown era, and it was fascinatingly terrible. The defense allowed Brock Purdy to post near-perfect passing stats in the first half, and the offense woke up for only two scoring drives before eventually faltering in the second half. It seems as if the solution to this problem is found in, once again, tearing away at the foundations of this current team makeup and starting from a position that is far removed from expectations. So, who will it be? Will it be Ben Johnson, Joe Brady, Brian Flores, Mike Vrabel? All four men are linked as the top coaching candidates for the Bears, and they have a chance to restore hope in a city that has desperately searched for it in their team for quite some time. However, before we can get to that, we must ask ourselves: who will be making these hires? Plenty of fans and pundits assume that Ryan Poles will stay on and draft another coach to lead Caleb Williams to greater heights, but I have a different question: why should he be allowed to do it?
Matt Eberflus was certainly not the coach the team needed, but his failures come off the back of the decisions that Ryan Poles has made. Whether it was the physical debacle from attempting to sign Larry Ogunjobi, the decisions to pursue skill players while not properly addressing the offensive line, or trying to find a competent defensive interior at a discount, Ryan Poles’s decisions have come to haunt the Bears' future, and I’m not sure that allowing him to do it again would be what’s best for this organization. I don’t fault George Halas for the decision to bring in people like Bill Polian to find competent coaching and management; the problem arises when you allow parts that are not working to continue attempting to. Ryan Poles has done a lot of great for this organization, and that cannot be understated. He is responsible for finding the Bears their franchise QB while also securing picks and players that led to DJ Moore and Rome Odunze. He’s done some damn good things. With that being said, his three-year tenure has been marked by inefficiency and poor planning, and it does seem to defy logic that he be allowed to continue down this path. If he is selected to continue, CEO Kevin Warren must set a standard of excellence that trickles down from his position to everyone else in the organization. Whether he will do that is anyone’s guess. The only thing Bears fans can do is hope for the best. After all, that’s what they’ve been doing for decades.
Jarrett and Brian are joined this week by @CarasikS to discuss Kirk Cousins disastrous performance against the Chargers and if it’s time for Michael Penix Jr to see the field.
Scott & Flows breakdown the Bears 30-27 Overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Rejoice Chicago, only 2 more home games left of this.
The Bears took on the Minnesota Vikings in an anticipated NFC North matchup and... once again fell to their opponent. It has become a trend over the course of my career as a beat reporter to report another Bears loss. This one, however, has followed a disturbing trend of late game decisions that have cost the Bears a crucial victory. The final score was 30-27 and it came after Caleb Williams led 3 drives to close the game, get an onside kick, then tie the game. Notable amongst the throws was a bullet to DJ Moore near the end of regulation to set the Bears up in field goal position. Unfortunately, it was all for naught, and the Bears fell to 4-7 on the season with their playoff hopes virtually gone. After the game, we caught up with head coach Matt Eberflus, who expressed frustration with how things played out but praised the “grit” and “determination” of his players. The offense battled back from a two-score deficit to force overtime against the Vikings, and it was due to the effort by rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. He finished 32-of-47 for 340 yards, two touchdowns, and no turnovers. He was able to spread the ball around to his skill players with DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Cole Kmet, and Rome Odunze recording 7, 9, 7, and 5 receptions, respectively. Caleb’s footwork was efficient, and his throws were decisive. In a league where young quarterbacks struggle with adjusting to NFL passing “windows”, Caleb routinely found his man in tight spaces and placed it where they had a chance to make a play. As you can assume from the tone of this writing, this is where the good news ends.
Defensively, it was far from the performance you’d expect from such a talented group. Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold went 22-of-34 for 330 yards and looked comfortable all afternoon. The Bears' linebackers routinely plugged the wrong gaps, and the secondary allowed chunk play after chunk play. To make matters worse, the defensive front failed to generate any meaningful pressure. Defensive Coordinator Eric Washington loves to generate pressure with his front four, but they consistently failed in that marker. Normally a team would adjust to this with simulated pressure on blitzing more but the Bears chose to forgo that option. Matt Eberflus was hired with the expectation that, as a defensive-minded coach, he would solidify it and continue the Chicago trend of having an excellent group. However, as the NFL season progresses, it’s becoming evident that this group is nothing more than "bum slayers." For those unfamiliar with the term, it refers to defensive units that dominate weak opponents but collapse against competent teams. In back-to-back weeks, the Bears have allowed nearly five yards per carry to starting running backs while playing soft coverage, giving up huge plays in the game’s most crucial moments. The unfortunate highlight of the game was second-year wide receiver Jordan Addison torching the Bears' secondary for eight catches, 162 yards, and a staggering 20+ yard average.
Quarterback Sam Darnold—yes, the six-year journeyman—looked like a man reborn. It didn’t matter the quarter or the field position; Darnold consistently found the open man. Even though several of his throws resembled the infamous meme: “Fuck it, he down there somewhere,” his play was top of the line. While the Bears’ defense struggled, the coaching staff’s decision-making was equally baffling. In the first half, faced with a 4th-and-2, Eberflus opted for a field goal instead of keeping the offense on the field. To make matters worse, right tackle Braxton Jones visibly threw his hands up in frustration, seemingly unhappy with the conservative call. Later in the game, a similar situation arose on a 4th-and-4. This time, the field goal unit rushed onto the field only to be waved off by the offense. Eberflus later took responsibility, claiming he needed to get the play call in earlier. However, to outside observers, this looked like an offense outright ignoring its head coach and taking matters into its own hands. It’s emblematic of the entire Bears season: players and coaches on different wavelengths, resulting in heartbreaking losses. This marks the third game this year (after the Commanders and Packers matchups) where the Bears had late momentum, only to squander it in the end.
The lone bright spot for Chicago remains Caleb Williams and interim offensive coordinator Thomas Brown. In his short tenure, Brown has transformed the offense, moving away from confusion over play calls and personnel groupings to decisive, effective play. He’s used pre-snap motion to scheme players open and trusted Caleb to rise to the occasion in high-pressure moments. Caleb even noted that, in clutch situations, Brown tells him through the headset: “Go be Superman” and to Caleb’s credit, he’s delivered. Sadly, his Herculean efforts have consistently been undermined by the team’s shortcomings. On special teams, things aren’t any better. Kicker Cairo Santos has struggled with depth and accuracy, with one of his kicks blocked in back-to-back weeks. Such issues crush team morale, and the road ahead only gets tougher.
At this juncture in the season, where do the Bears go from here? With roughly 90 hours until their Thanksgiving matchup, there’s little time to implement meaningful changes. Eberflus commented, “The team will be in tomorrow, we’ll make corrections and go from there.” While this is typical “coach-speak”, he’s not wrong—there’s no luxury of time for reflection or overhaul. However, after Thanksgiving, the organization faces a crucial decision. With playoff hopes nearly extinguished, it’s time to send a clear signal that the culture is changing. That begins with moving on from the head coach. While this move won’t salvage the season, it would demonstrate to players and fans alike that the franchise is serious about developing Caleb Williams and building a winning team. Kevin Warren faces an uphill battle as he seeks to secure funding for a new stadium. A winning team would undoubtedly make that proposition more appealing to taxpayers and city officials. Expecting sympathy and understanding while fielding a subpar product is a fool’s errand—one that I’d hope Warren understands. He and general manager Ryan Poles have the power to salvage what remains of the season and build upon Caleb’s success.
At least, that’s what a good organization would do. But this is the Chicago Bears we’re talking about—so don’t hold your breath.
Jarrett and Brian are back to discuss the Falcons disappointing loss in the Mile High City & search for answers headed into the Bye.
Welcome to hell, Chicago
I’m going to state the obvious: The Chicago Bears’ season is unraveling. What started as a promising 4-2 campaign with hopes for the playoffs, cheers of a competitive culture and a renewal of interest by the fans has spiraled into a skid that highlights the franchise’s longstanding issues. Perhaps none of these issues is more glaring than their inability to shed the “little brother” label when it comes to their storied “rivalry” with the Green Bay Packers. For the past 10 years, the rivalry has had a consistent setting; most years, Bears fans wait with anticipation for that autumn matchup against the Packers with thoughts of revenge on their minds. For Packers fans, it’s a tune-up game where they get to remind their “little brothers” about who is in control of this rivalry. Unfortunately for residents of the Windy City, the Big Brothers have reminded the Bears over and over about their place within this history.
Sunday’s 20-19 loss marked the Bears’ 11th consecutive defeat in the series, the longest streak in the history of a matchup that was once far more balanced. At this point, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to even call this a “rivalry.” After all, what defines a rival? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a rival is “one of two or more striving to reach or obtain something that only one can possess.” In the NFL, teams strive for a division title, a conference championship, and ultimately, the Super Bowl. While you can occasionally bypass a divisional crown to achieve the other two, the goal is to secure all three—a mark of a truly competitive franchise. In a true rivalry, both teams act as barriers to each other’s success, fighting to achieve these shared goals. But when it comes to Bears-Packers, what have the Bears accomplished? Since 2014, they’ve claimed just one division title and beaten the Packers only twice. Meanwhile, Green Bay has consistently made the playoffs and relegated the Bears to irrelevance within the NFC North. For all intents and purposes, this isn’t a rivalry anymore. The numbers make that clear. The Packers now lead the all-time series 108-95-6, a commanding margin that reflects not just a recent trend but a seismic shift in dominance over the decades. The brutal truth is that the Bears haven’t beaten Green Bay in their last 10 attempts and rivalries thrive on competition, but this one feels more akin to an annual asswhooping than a rivalry.
This trend and these losses have left some unanswered questions: Where is the leadership? Where is the accountability? As with any struggle in sports, there comes a point when blame needs to be assigned. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, viewed as the future of the franchise, has shown flashes of brilliance but his development remains inconsistent—a reflection of the instability surrounding him. One week, he dazzles with performances like his four-touchdown outing against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The next, he struggles with bad habits, such as holding onto the ball too long or failing to take his checkdowns, as seen in the November 10th loss to the New England Patriots. While this inconsistency led to the firing of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, one wonders about the decisions that went into hiring Waldron in the first place . In Caleb’s first game without Waldron, he displayed impressive poise, clutch decision-making, and determination, sparking hope that he might still develop into the player Chicago desperately needs. But was his inconsistency simply a product of Waldron’s poor coaching, or does it point to deeper rot within the organization? That’s where head coach Matt Eberflus comes into focus. Under Eberflus’ leadership, the Bears’ flaws have only become more pronounced. Caleb’s struggles aren’t the first time this has happened to a young Quarterback. Justin Fields went through a similar process during his team, including struggles from the offensive coordinator role. So, when you add Justin’s & Caleb’s inconsistent development, it all reflects back on Eberflus’ decisions. Whether it’s questionable hirings, puzzling personnel groupings, or baffling in-game calls, the blame logically necessitates his inclusion. His puzzling decisions have been obvious during this current season. In Week 8’s loss against the Washington Commanders, Eberflus inexplicably allowed Washington to gain extra yards late in the game, setting up room for an improbable Hail Mary that stunned them. Then, in Sunday’s loss to Green Bay, he burned precious time by opting for a 40 plus yard field goal instead of trusting his offense to gain more yards for a closer attempt—or better yet, a touchdown.
“Tough Times don’t last, Tough People do” - Matt Eberflus
The Bears’ issues increasingly point to Eberflus’ struggles as a head coach, and these cannot be ignored any longer. For Chicago to move forward, the leadership at the top must be held accountable. The question now should not be whether Eberflus can right the ship, it should be about who can replace him so that the Bears can become a true contender because 3 years of Eberflus’s direction have failed to produce it.
That withstanding, pinning all the blame on Eberflus would miss the bigger picture. This team is a product of General Manager Ryan Poles’ vision. He entered the offseason with significant resources—ample cap space and draft capital—but the roster still feels incomplete. Poles opted to pursue high value skill players while ignoring the glaring holes on the offensive and defensive line. Those costly decisions have been apparent during this recent skid. The patchwork offensive he produced cannot protect Williams consistently, with them allowing a season high NINE sacks against the New England Patriots, which was coming off a 6 sack performance the week before. On the defensive side of the ball, the lack of interior pressure has allowed this talented defense to fold in critical moments. In their matchup against the Packers, their only sack came when Jordan Love scrambled towards the end zone, after he failed to find an open receiver.
This isn’t just about losing to Green Bay. It’s about what those losses represent. Rivalries are supposed to bring out the best in a team, to push them to rise above their limitations. Instead, the Packers games have become a microcosm of everything wrong with the Bears: poor execution, questionable leadership, and a glaring lack of identity. I’ve stated this numerous times during my time covering this team: Chicago deserves better. Bears fans, who hold the Bears to near religious significance in their hearts, deserve a team that matches their passion and resilience. Instead, they’ve been left with a franchise that can’t seem to get out of its own way. The clock is ticking for Poles and Eberflus. If they can’t right the ship soon, this season will end up being another tick in the hamster wheel from hell.
To break free from this frustrating cycle, the Bears need more than just tweaks—they need wholesale change. They need new leadership, a bold vision, and an unflinching commitment to accountability. While the Bears have slid into the role of lovable losers, their divisional rivals are moving in the opposite direction. The Detroit Lions, once the league's perennial punchline, have transformed into a powerhouse, poised to secure another division title and even contend for a Super Bowl. The Packers remain a consistent threat, and the Vikings—despite losing their first-round quarterback to injury—have rallied behind Sam Darnold and clawed their way into playoff contention.
These realities should light a fire under Bears President & CEO Kevin Warren. Brought in to usher the franchise into a new era, Warren must recognize that the transformation begins with assembling a staff that shares his passion, vision, and sense of urgency. Right now, GM Ryan Poles and HC Matt Eberflus have delivered a product that feels more like a relic of the past than a step toward a brighter future. The only question left now is simple: What will Kevin Warren do to turn this franchise around?
