LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) — Throughout the course of two challenging two seasons leading the Bears, head coach Matt Eberflus has preached patience.
Eberflus has cited the need for patience in the slow process of developing the Bears into a formidable football team, in establishing an offensive identity and in quarterback Justin Fields' progress.
Eberflus has held onto that belief it will all pay off, but even he admits that being patient hasn't come easy over the course of his adult life.
"I have two daughters, so, yes," Eberflus deadpanned Wednesday. "I mean, obviously when I was really young, I was very intense in my 20s. My former players could probably attest to that. I became a defensive coordinator at 29 when I was at Missouri. So, that's when I kind of learned patience, when I started to become in charge of a whole group, a young group. They got better and they played some good football at the end there.
"Obviously, you want the wins. Right? The wins, that's the biggest frustration. When are you going to get the wins? You keep doing things right, you keep doing things right, and then all of a sudden, the wins will come.
"I know it's been slow, and I know the Chicago Bears fans, as we do, want more wins. You can certainly see that momentum start to change. We're certainly optimistic for that."
The embattled Eberflus is fighting to save his job in the final five games of the regular season, starting Sunday as the Bears (4-8) host the Lions (9-3) at Soldier Field.
Bears president Kevin Warren will soon face pivotal decisions on the futures of Eberflus and general manager Ryan Poles, a regime that's 7-22 in leading the team through a turbulent rebuilding plan. If Eberflus is retained, he and Poles must then decide whether Fields and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy are the right individuals to lead that side of the ball moving forward.
While the Bears have showcased growth defensively – including having the NFL's top-ranked rushing defense – their offense has continued to sputter. Chicago ranks 20th in yardage and 21st in scoring offense this season. The 24-year-old Fields has showcased individual growth in his third NFL season, but the unit as a whole has struggled to consistently produce. That much was clear during the Bears' ugly 12-10 win against the Vikings on Nov. 27, a game Chicago won on the strength of its defensive effort and kicker Cairo Santos' four field goals.
As a career defensive assistant whose first head coaching job has come with the Bears, Eberflus is still relatively new to overseeing an offense.
"The sense of urgency should always be there," Eberflus said. "When the execution is there, you want to keep doing that. When it's not, you want to have a sense of urgency.
"It's about how do we generate explosive plays? You score touchdowns by getting the explosives. We all know that. But how do we do that in the running game? How do we create advantageous positions for the offense? Through motions, formationally, to create those advantages, those angles that we want to have so we can pop those runs. And in the passing game, we're going to have to take more shots downfield to create those explosive plays.
"Those things are there. We just have to take advantage of it."
Lately, Eberflus has shared a consistent message to his Bears about "finishing," especially in the aftermath of Chicago's collapse in a 31-26 loss at Detroit on Nov. 19, when it blew a 12-point lead with 4:15 remaining. His team responded eight days later with a late go-ahead drive to beat the Vikings, with Fields connecting with top receiver DJ Moore for a 36-yard completion that set Santos up for the game-winning field goal with 10 seconds remaining.
That comeback win underscored the Bears' commitment to each other – and to Eberflus, who hasn't lost the attention of his players despite struggles across the past two seasons. The Bears are now aiming to finish strong and can take a step toward doing that by exacting a measure of revenge against the Lions on Sunday.
Slowly but surely, Eberflus believes, the Bears are progressing.
"Obviously, you have to have extreme patience during this time," Eberflus said. "And you got to see growth. You have to see that in small increments at times. You have to learn from every performance, and I think that's part of growing. We've continued to do that as we've put this football team together, and that's all we're trying to do this week. Our focus is on the Lions. Our focus is on getting better."
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago's sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.
