Chicago Bears: Matt Eberflus Feels More Comfortable In Year 2

After one year under his belt, Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus feels better and more comfortable with things in Year 2.

Well, the Chicago Bears now enter the final lull of the offseason. They finished their mandatory minicamp last week and are 39 days from the start of training camp. The players have downtime with nothing to do. General manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus spend that same time trying to figure out how to prepare the team for the start of training camp. They also spend that time looking to improve the team.

Eberflus enters his second year of coaching with increased pressure. Last season was a learning experience for him. It was his first as a head coach. He led the entire team, not just the defensive unit.

Yes, Eberflus had some pressure in Year 1. However, it was different. He did not have a competitive roster in 2022. He knew, Poles knew, the NFL community knew, and most fans knew that the Bears were going nowhere. This was not a team that was going to compete for anything but the race for the worst record in the league.

That was a race they certainly won.

Despite not having a good roster, Eberflus had a pretty successful Year 1. At first glance, a 3-14 record doesn’t seem like a success. However, the Bears were very competitive in nearly all their games. They had eight games that finished within one score. They lost seven of them. There were also a couple of others that were within one score that got out of hand late.

To have that team competitive in those games, especially against some of the elite teams in the league, is a testament to Eberflus getting through the players. He got them to buy into his HITS principle. They played hard and were more disciplined than we’d seen for the better part of a decade.

The thought is that with an influx of better talent and making sure to add players who would also buy into Eberflus, a lot of those close losses could result in wins.

Year 1 was to set the foundation and not worry about wins. Year 2 is when the Chicago Bears should start winning more. That is the pressure on Eberflus.

Eberflus feels more comfortable in Year 2

Though now people will want to see more wins from the Chicago Bears, Eberflus still feels more comfortable in Year 2. He has the experience from last year to lean on to make decisions. He said recently that Year 2 is usually better than Year 1.

When I became the defensive coordinator at Missouri and I was 29 years old, the second year was better than the first year, and it kept getting better, and we kept adding talent. And the same thing when I became the coordinator at the Colts…There’s no teacher like experience. You get more comfortable in the position. You know how to flex a little bit better. You’re more comfortable with the coaches. The coaches are more comfortable with the players. It’s just the second time through it.

It isn’t just the players having to adjust to Eberflus. Now, in his second year, he can adjust to the players. There is more of a give-and-take this year. He can loosen up just a bit. Last year he had to set the foundation. Additionally, he had to get the players in line so they could play as hard as they did.

This year, he understands better what the players’ abilities are and uses that to better run the team.

Eberflus and Fields grow together

While quarterback Justin Fields started his time with the Chicago Bears a year before Eberflus, the duo is still growing together. Last season was Fields’ first as the starting quarterback.

There was controversy in Fields’ rookie season. While many people expected him to eventually win the job fairly quickly, Matt Nagy, the head coach at the time, wanted to sit him down for the season. That did not go over well. Nagy felt the pressure, even from some of his own coaches, to put Fields in. An injury to Andy Dalton forced Nagy’s hand. However, he did not tweak his offense to better fit Fields. This was still Dalton’s offense that Fields had to run.

That did not work well, either. Nagy had to go and Eberflus entered.

Despite Fields not being Poles’ or Eberflus’ choice, they see Fields’ abilities and are all-in on him. The offense is now going to be tailored to his abilities.

The head coach/quarterback relationship is an important one. If they aren’t on the right page things go south quickly. Eberflus and Fields grew together last year.

Poles did a good job of adding quality talent to help both Fields and Eberflus. Now, with more of that talent on the roster, we get to see how good each of them can be. Their growth together should take a bigger step.

This isn’t really the first time around for Eberflus or the players who were in Chicago last year. However, it likely feels like the first time. There are a lot of new faces on the team. That means there is another wave of adjustment that needs to be made. With the experience of last year, though, Eberflus is better equipped to deal with what happens this year. He is more comfortable with his position and is more open to having to change some of his ways so the players feel more involved.

We’ll see what the results of that are in 2023.