Exit Interviews Produce Interesting Results

Some Bears players saw need for better communications with coaches said Justin Jones.

To borrow a quote from the actor Strother Martin in "Cool Hand Luke," what the Bears have here could be a failure to communicate.  

The Bears coaching staff might have received an earful Monday morning when they had exit interviews and sought feedback from players.

Coach Matt Eberflus has talked extensively about succeeding in 2022 at laying a foundation but on Monday players laid out something else—"grievances," as defensive tackle Justin Jones called them.

The discussion seemed to have been largely a defensive issue and the product of players on one-year contracts who felt things weren't being spelled out for them the way they wanted or needed.

Jones said there was an exchange of thoughts and ideas on the season past and what's ahead.

"There's a lot of things we've gotta correct as a team," Jones said. "A lot of players were able to address some of their grievances and issues they had, throughout the season and everything. I thought that was huge for the coaching staff to hear some constructive criticism from the players and vice versa."

A main part of the issues brought up included the need for better communications.

"I guess, just making this a better place for a lot more players to speak what's on their minds," Jones said. "You know, if a player doesn't agree with some of the things that we are doing, I think there should be an open space for you to air it out and say 'hey, I don't know why we are doing this,' and just be able to explain to them 'hey, this is what we are doing, this is why your job is so important and this is what it means for our defense.'

"That will help a player feel like it's better doing it more properly because they know how significant their role is to our defense."

The Bears had very little money for free agents last offseason so they signed lower-priced players to one-year free agent deals, with the exception of a few like Jones and Al-Quadin Muhammad on defense and Lucas Patrick and Trevor Siemian on offense. These one-year free agents apparently felt a bit frustrated less informed.  

"A lot of guys feel different ways," Jones said. "A lot of guys are on one-year deals here, so the season didn't go the way they planned it to. Some guys are frustrated, some guys just want clarification on certain things.

"You have to give them the answer they are looking for, you have to tell them exactly what it was and the thing they could have been better at. And go about the business like that. Like I said, it's healthy for both sides."

Players on defense who had one-year deals included linebacker Nick Morrow, safety Dane Cruikshank, defensive tackle Armon Watts, linebacker Matthew Adams, safety DeAndre Houston-Carson, defensive tackle Mike Pennel and linebacker Joe Thomas.

"When you're going through tough season and stuff like that, players tend to look at themselves and are like 'What am I doing wrong?' " Jones said. "And with that being said, you kind of have to reiterate like 'Hey, my door is always open if you want to talk.'

"Reiterate, 'Hey, things aren't going the way we planned, I know it looks kind of bad right now, but if you really need to understand where you stand, come and talk.' Really make it just that, don't make it seem like 'Oh it's a punishment if you come to the office' but instead 'Hey it's tough right now, come talk to me and we can hash it out right there.' "

Jones didn't specify who any coaches in question were or if it was a coordinator or even Eberflus being singled out in feedback about lack of communication.

Eberflus didn't talk with media on Monday but will on Tuesday morning when he and general manager Ryan Poles hold their season-ending press conference.

It seemed an understandable source of discontent among defensive players was how the trade of Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn went down. For Jones, and also for Eddie Jackson, it resulted in bigger leadership roles.

"Obviously, the team hasn't been the same since we traded Roquan and Rob," Jones said. "We haven't won since then. That speaks to how much of a leader Roquan and Rob were to our defense and everything. You can see the shift in production.

"Obviously, defensive stat production, sacks, TFLs, pass breakups, and interceptions, it all took a toll. But there's no replacing that."

Without two key leaders, Jones had to become a leader after he had been in Chicago only since March.

"I had brought up the fact that I would step in and fill in some shoes but Roquan is a household name here," Jones said. "He is Chicago. It was tough for me to step into that (leadership) role, because it's like, man, all I can do for the guys is listen and see how they feel and keep checking in on them. Stuff like that. But that played a big role as well, I felt like."

Jones sort of became a go-between then.

"I understand that it's some pieces that really do hurt, but at the end of the day, regardless of who's playing and who's on the field, you've got to understand that it is a business and we've got a job to do," Jones said. "It's up to us to do the job as best as we can to the best of our abilities at 100 percent effort. That's just what we signed up for.

"That being said, it's still on the players' behalf, too, to make sure that we carry out our duties and make sure we're doing everything we're coached to do on the field no matter who's on the field with us because at the end of the day, this is your resume. You don't share a resume with anybody else. This is your resume."

The bottom line in all of this is many of those players on defense won't even be with the Bears in the future, anyway.

The Bears were 12th after seven weeks on defense and finished 29th, as they had a steady decline following the trades. Losing Jackson, Jack Sanborn and Jaylon Johnson to season-ending injuries didn't help, either.

This Bears defense became the first in team history to give up the most points in the league.

With Spotrac.com projecting $119 million available to the Bears under the cap and with the first pick and three of the first 65 picks, defense will no doubt get a heavy overhaul.

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