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Matt Eberflus coaching future odds: Chicago Bears have never fired their head during the season

Chicago Bears fans want head coach Matt Eberflus fired.

Matt Severance

The arrow was trending up for the Chicago Bears entering the 2023 season -- at least it looked that way on paper. They are close to finalizing a new stadium in the suburbs and the product on the field was supposed to take a giant leap forward. However, the Bears lost their franchise-record 14th straight game on Sunday and officially hit rock bottom in the Matt Eberflus coaching era. SportsLine offers odds on his future.

If the Bears were the New York Yankees of the 1970s-80s and owned by the impetuous George Steinbrenner, there's no doubt Eberflus would have been fired Sunday after Chicago blew a 28-7 third-quarter lead at home against the winless Denver Broncos and lost 31-28. It matched the largest blown lead in Bears franchise history and ruined a career passing day from Justin Fields. The Eberflus-led defense has allowed at least 25 points in each loss, an NFL record. Chicago has an NFL-low two sacks in 2023.

Eberflus made a very puzzling decision with the Bears facing fourth-and-1 at the Broncos' 18-yard line with under three minutes left and the game tied 28-28. Instead of taking the chip-shot field goal for the lead, Eberflus clearly didn't trust his defense with that much time left – a defense for which he calls plays – and opted to go for it. The play failed, and the Broncos drove right down the field for the winning field goal.

The coach said he went for it because the Bears had been running the ball so well Sunday – yet needing barely a yard, Chicago lined up in a shotgun formation. Khalil Herbert never had a chance.

"Yeah, there's a lot of plays that you can run there. You can run a bunch of different plays. That's the play we chose. That's the play we thought was the best at the time," said Eberflus, who is now 3-18.

Not only are the Bears playing bad football, they are embarrassing themselves off the field. Fields ripped his coaching staff last week; defensive coordinator Alan Williams resigned under very strange circumstances (which is why Eberflus is now calling plays); and there's a storm brewing with receiver Chase Claypool. He was not only inactive Sunday but told to stay home.

Following the loss, Eberflus told reporters that it was Claypool's choice whether to attend the game as an inactive player or stay home, but then admitted Monday that the team asked Claypool to stay home. He will not play this Thursday in Washington, either. Chicago sent the No. 32 overall pick to Pittsburgh last November in exchange for Claypool, who is in the final year of his rookie contract.

The Bears are one of the most conservative franchises in the NFL and have never fired a coach midseason. Eberflus was hand-picked by new GM Ryan Poles, so a firing would leave major egg on Poles' face. Perhaps the only thing that might give Poles, who made that awful Claypool trade, another year himself is that he could have the top two picks in the 2023 draft. The Bears have their own first-rounder and own Carolina's. Those are the only two winless teams currently.

Via SportsLine oddsmakers: Will Matt Eberflus be fired during the 2023 season?

  • No -200
  • Yes +150

Via SportsLine oddsmakers: Will Matt Eberflus be the Bears' coach for Week 1 in 2024?

  • No -400
  • Yes +300

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