It Sounds Like Jaylon Johnson Ran Eberflus Out Of The Locker Room And Ultimately Out Of Chicago
Genuinely thank GOD for Jaylon Johnson. If he doesn't blow up on Eberflus when he was spouting his postgame bullshit in the locker room I doubt anything changes here. It took something drastic. If it was just you run of the mill, typical soul-crushing, incompetent, Bears loss I doubt George McCaskey signs off on the firing. The haven't fired a coach mid-season in their 105 years and I do believe they would've rode this out unless the players had a genuine mutiny. The players forced management's hand. Eberflus had to go. He's gone. And we owe Jaylon Johnson a thank you. It was obvious to everyone at home a change was needed. It was clearly obvious to everyone in the locker room too. I guess 2.5 years and a 14-32 record wasn't enough for the brass, but it was more than enough for the players.
As time goes on I think I've realized that the three most important words in leadership are "I. Fucked. Up."
People make mistakes. Everyone has made them. People are sympathetic to people who admit their mistakes and work to correct them. Eberflus never did that. The play before the hail mary against Washington...not a mistake. It didn't matter. It was all on Stevenson. Not calling a time out...Caleb changed the play. That was his fault. Eberflus' favorite defense was always, dismiss, deflect, and then throw a player under the bus. Ultimately, that is what Eberflus fired more than anything else.
I hope we hear those three magic words from Ryan Poles now too. He hired Eberflus. He wanted to keep Eberflus after last year. He. Fucked. Up. If he wants to keep his job he needs to admit, at least privately, that he made a giant mistake. Sounds like Poles isn't going anywhere.
I wonder what a "leader of men" means to Poles. I wonder why that wasn't a requirement last time or for ANY head coach, but here we are. Passed on Harbaugh to end up with...who? This is going to be a long 5-7 weeks as the Bears coaching search begins.
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At this moment I want Mike Vrabel. We'll see which candidates are available going forward. Scary time. Can't miss on this opportunity and the Poles, Warren, McCaskey dynamic is murky at best.