Bear Digest

Lessons Learned: What the Bears Can Take from a Lost Season

Bears GM Ryan Poles and president Kevin Warren can learn a lot about who to hire at head coach from this wasted season as well as about other decisions that need to be made.

Gene Chamberlain

There were plenty of lessons learned from this season for the Bears, including GM Ryan Poles.
There were plenty of lessons learned from this season for the Bears, including GM Ryan Poles. / Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images
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The Bears have only one actual practice scheduled for this week so there's plenty of time for introspection.

In some seasons, it's difficult to pinpoint where things went wrong and why.

In this season, the causes of an eight-game losing streak were as obvious as the bruises Caleb Williams has and the 32nd ranking they have on offense.

Here's what the Bears can take away from a third straight lost season and the end of the Matt Eberflus coaching era.

1. George McCaskey Doesn't Know What He's Doing

The Bears board chairman and his hand-picked assistant, Bill Polian, hired Ryan Poles three years ago, and then forced three coaching candidates on him and told him to pick one. One happened to have the same agent. One was not someone who should be a head coach again (Jim Caldwell) and the other was obviously a better choice than the other two but was experienced but tainted by the stain of a blown Super Bowl with Atlanta (Dan Quinn). Of course Poles chose wrong and attached himself to someone he knew by hiring Matt Eberflus.

McCaskey's regime has had nothing but failed moves at GM and head coach starting with when he allowed GM Jerry Angelo to be fired in January of 2012. Under Angelo, they were in six playoff games including two NFC championship games and a Super Bowl. Since Angelo's firing, they've been in two playoff games and lost both in 12 years. McCaskey signed off on firing Lovie Smith as coach after a 10-6 season. They have won at least 10 once in the last 12 seasons.

Fortunately McCaskey put Kevin Warren in charge of things now but still has a final confirmation. McCaskey's response to any decisions made by Warren and Poles on a coach or by Warren on Poles should be: "whatever."

He has proven he'll fail at every single football matter that comes up.

2. Fix Offensive Line Starters

Poles came into the season marveling at his offensive line. He was talking about all the depth they had from the time the draft ended until the time training camp ended.

Depth doesn't equal starting talent. What the Bears needed to do was put the best possible players in the starting lineup rather than focusing on who was backing them up. And they needed to pay more attention to the obvious facts about their linemen. They're not good. If they were, they wouldn't have given up the most sacks in the league and also ranked 26th in yards per rushing attempt.

Poles' biggest mistake was signing Nate Davis as the right guard starter for three years in 2023 despite evidence everyone could see that the former Titans starter was prone to taking it easy, according to a report by the Tribune's Dan Wiederer. Davis kept coming up with reasons for not practicing or playing in the offseason and training camp and it was apparent then that this pick had failed.

He's gone now and they'll be dining on his cap hit. Enjoy.

Poles brought in Coleman Shelton as center and it hasn't been a nightmare move, as he's graded 10th as a pass blocker and 12th overall among centers by Pro Football Focus. However, they've been absolutely terrible at the goal line and on fourth-and-1. These areas are critical for centers. Coleman just isn't a big enough center to be a dominant force in short yardage. He's 285 pounds by the team's measurement and listing. Offensive linemen who weigh 285 went out in the NFL with the 1985 Bears. The offense took and failed at stupid gambles in short yardage against Washington, Indianapolis and Minnesota. The center position and better blocking on the interior could mean success in a game.

Braxton Jones hasn't been a terrible tackle and has been in and out of the lineup with injuries the last two years but improving over him wouldn't be impossible. Teven Jenkins can be one of the leauge's best guards but spends as much time in the trainer's room as in a three-point stance.

The Bears need five good starting offensive linemen. They have one they can depend on for the future in Darnell Wright, a couple who have the injury asterisk and holes at the other spots.

And the depth Poles brought in?

Ryan Bates has spent the year being injured, first his shoulder and now a concussion. Kiran Amegadjie missed all offseason rehabbing from surgery so drafting a third-round lineman who already is hurt is not the way to go. You can't just pick up your game as a rookie during an NFL season. It requires some practice. Also, left tackle is too important to leave to someone with Larry Borom's blocking record and an injured rookie who didn't have an off-season, training camp or preseason in pro football.

They must bring in productive, proven, strong and healthy blockers at four positions.

Caleb Williams has plenty of talent but can't pass when he's positioned on his rear end. Picking offensive line is supposed to be Poles' strength.

3. Changeover Again

Matt Eberflus was judged so poor at leading a team that he couldn't finish his third season after winning only 14 of 46 games. He couldn't coach at the end of games.

He also couldn't pick coaches. The Bears coaching staff has been entirely unstable since last year. They are on their third offensive coordinator, third defensive play caller, third running backs coach, second cornerbacks coach. They've changed quarterbacks coaches, wide receivers coaches. It seems the only place with less stability at Halas Hall than their coaching staff has been their offensive line.

There is no point in keeping anyone on this staff except Jon Hoke, the cornerbacks coach. Players show immediate improvement and good production under him, as long as they're paying attention during the start of Hail Mary passes.

4. Offensive Coaching Hire

Their biggest offensive asset is Williams. He needs to have a head coach who is QB savvy, in addition to being a proven play caller and overall leader.

Hiring a head coach who can help make up for the shoddy way Williams has been coached and handled to date will be imperative so they can keep from wasting his arm talent.

5. Running Backs Must Be Physical

The Bears have tried to make running backs into breakaway threats and wide receivers into running backs. They're doing this because their backs fail to break tackles.

The best backs break tackles and are breakaway threats. D'Andre Swift is 43rd in the NFL among running backs in broken tackles with five. Roschon Johnson is 84th.

Lions back Jahmyr Gibbs is 12th with 16 broken tackles and he's a speed back. They need someone like this.

The Bears need backs who will break tackles AND run fast.

They may need to revamp their full running back group.

6. There Are Two Edges and Not One

Poles' answer to an edge rusher as a counter to Montez Sweat is either Darrell Taylor or Jake Martin or Dominique Robinson or Austin Booker or Daniel Hardy.  Don't bother looking up their sack totals because they're way down the charts.

DeMarcus Walker isn't a bad player as the other edge starter but is more of a run-stopping end than pass rusher. He's stout enough they can move him inside to rush. Since last year they've needed proven, dependable pass rusher in passing situations from the other edge to keep down all the chipping being done on Sweat. They didn't accomplish this with the group from the island of misfit edge rushers they now have.

7. There's No Sense Keeping Timeouts

Eberflus kept his against Detroit with time running out and got fired.

It's uncertain what Eberflus plans to do with this timeout now, but he's still got it.

Whoever the next coach is they need to make sure he knows how to manage a game above all else.

8. The Honeybears Are Long Gone

Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson said he was yelling at Bears fans in Washington and not taunting Commanders fans when the ill-fated Hail Mary pass started.

The Bears got rid of the Honeybears, their cheerleaders, after the 1985 season. They didn't need cheerleaders.

They needed a cornerback then who was paying attention and doing his job.

9. Be Safe at Safety

The top Bears safety is 31-year-old Kevin Byard. Jaquan Brisker has had three concussions in three seasons and hasn't played because of the third one since Oct. 6.

They better start thinking of safety as a need position for early in the draft, right up there with offensive and defensive line, because their pass coverage was 10th a week after Brisker's injury and now it's 26th.

10. There Will Be No Stadium

Forget the constant dialogue about where the Bears will build a stadium. Illinois politicians might be crooked but they're not dumb enough to allocate public funds to help build a new stadium when the team has been in last place seven of the last 11 seasons.

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.