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Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus. Daniel Bartel-USA TODAY Sports

Bears make surprising decision with HC Matt Eberflus

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 1/10/24

The Chicago Bears fired a slew of coaches on Wednesday, but the leader of the pack is reportedly expected to retain his position.

After extensive meetings Monday and Tuesday, the Bears are not making a head coaching change and Matt Eberflus offically is expected to return for the 2024 season, per league sources. pic.twitter.com/eWwag6e0N6
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 10, 2024

Bears wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert has also been fired, per source. That makes 3 offensive coaches parting ways with Chicago: OC Luke Getsy, QBs coach Andrew Janocko and Tolbert.
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) January 10, 2024

In the wake of the news regarding Matt Eberflus, there were split reactions among reporters about whether the 53-year-old deserved to keep his gig.

The Bears looked at a HC market that includes Jim Harbaugh, Mike Vrabel, Ben Johnson and maybe Bill Belichick and said "No thanks, we've got Matt Eberflus." Amazing.

Will be hilarious when they run back Eberflus/Fields over potential Harbaugh/Williams or Johnson/Maye tandems.
— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) January 10, 2024

The #Bears won five of their last eight games and more than doubled their win output from Matt Eberflus' first season to finish with a 7-10 record. Defense also performed at high level with Eberflus making play calls. https://t.co/ttUPwMfg1y
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) January 10, 2024

One of the key questions that remains is if Justin Fields will remain the Bears franchise quarterback or if the team will pursue USC signal-caller Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick this spring. Fields has shown flashes of brilliance over his first three seasons in the league but has also been inconsistent.

The 2021 first-round pick started 10 games during his rookie season and officially took over as the full-time starter during the 2022 campaign. Fields finished that season with a 60.4 completion percentage for 2,242 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions for an 85.2 passer rating across 15 games.

He was also seventh in the NFL with 1,143 rushing yards and added eight scores on the ground but led the NFL in fumbles (16) and sacks (55) as well. Fields ended the campaign ninth in the MVP voting.

The 24-year-old missed four contests during the 2023 season due to injury and ended the year with slightly better numbers through the air but not as much work on the ground. Part of that had to do with the offseason acquisition of star wide receiver D.J. Moore, who had the best season of his six-year career with 96 catches for 1,364 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.

Fields finished the 2023 campaign with a 61.4 completion percentage for 2,562 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions (86.3 passer rating), adding 657 rushing yards and four scores on the ground via 124 carries.

Eberflus landed his first head-coaching job with Chicago in January 2022 after serving as the Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator for four seasons.

Last week, ahead of the Bears' Week 18 contest against the Green Bay Packers, team president Kevin Warren avoided the topic of Eberflus' future with the organization. While nothing's been confirmed yet, it certainly looks like the former Toledo linebacker will be back in the Windy City in 2024.

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