In professional sports, coaches often get the short end of the stick, while general managers frequently evade blame. This is especially true in the NFL, where head coaches, such as former Jets head coach Robert Saleh, are fired as early as Week 5.
More recently, the Chicago Bears fired head coach Matt Eberflus after an embarrassing clock management debacle at the end of Chicago’s Thanksgiving matchup with the Detroit Lions, but the decision was only a matter of time. Eberflus ended his tenure in Chicago on a six-game losing streak and was much maligned in the media during that span. While he had his shortcomings, Eberflus was not the sole problem that fans made him out to be.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles — acclaimed for his flashy moves in the offseason — has evaded all blame despite his poor roster construction. Poles assembled the most anti-Chicago roster known to man, yet he’s only endured praise.
Poles built the Bears offense around three flashy wide receivers, a talented but novice young quarterback, and a speedy dual-threat running back. Meanwhile, Chicago's offensive and defensive lines — which should be the strengths of the team — are substandard. Let’s take a look at Poles’ offseason decisions — the moves that built Chicago’s current roster and ultimately contributed to Eberflus’ firing.
With the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Poles selected quarterback Caleb Williams. Instead of bolstering Chicago’s offensive line to protect his No. 1 pick, Poles opted for fireworks over practicality. In free agency, the third-year general manager traded for All-Pro wide receiver Keenan Allen, re-signed wide receiver DJ Moore, and signed running back D’Andre Swift. He also drafted wide receiver Rome Odunze with the No. 9 pick despite already having two elite wide receivers.
Poles’ decision to sign Swift as Chicago’s lead back was an eyebrow-raiser, given Swift is primarily an outside rusher who doesn't run between the tackles. Swift had a career-best season in 2023 behind Philadelphia's elite offensive line, much like Saquon Barkley this season, but his skillset doesn't align well with Chicago's roster.
Looking back on the moves he was praised for, Poles constructed a roster that cannot run the football, is built to play in a dome, and heavily relies on a rookie quarterback's ability to throw the football in inclement weather behind a weak offensive line. Mind you, the Bears play in the “Windy City,” and much of the NFL season is played in the winter.
Nonetheless, Matt Eberflus lost his job, Poles flew under the radar, and nobody in the football world batted an eye.
Year after year, I wonder why this happens, and only now have I understood the dynamic; it’s eerily similar to a teacher and a student.
The head coach is to a player in the NFL as the teacher is to a student in the classroom, with parents and fans playing ancillary but extremely influential roles in both environments.
Every teacher, be it in kindergarten, elementary school, or high school, has dealt with parents who ask why their “perfect” child doesn’t have an A in the course. Their child is struggling, but their child – like everyone else’s child — is infallible, of course. Therefore, the onus translates to the teacher because the teacher is the easiest person to blame for a student’s failures.
Similarly, fans wonder why their team — which they praised their general manager for constructing — is losing games it should win. Rather than considering the many factors that contribute to the team’s lack of success, they direct blame towards the most convenient target: the coach.
However, it’s not always the teacher's (coach's) fault — more often than not, it’s the student’s lack of effort that contributed to a poor grade. Notwithstanding, the parents do not see their child’s interactions with the teacher, so they rely on the child’s account — which is often distorted — to form an opinion of the teacher.
Furthermore, fans are quick to blame their coaches for their team’s failures without any knowledge of the team’s everyday activity, just as parents blame the teacher despite not being privy to the classroom environment. Often, the parents have never met the teacher, except for a quick “hello” at back-to-school night, just as fans construct their opinion of coaches solely based on press conferences and in-game interviews.
Of course, there are bad teachers and coaches too. However, in the aggregate, students and players often avoid accountability when things go south, leaving the responsibility to fall on the teachers and coaches.
Here's the point: the coach is rarely the sole perpetrator — just as the teacher is rarely the sole reason for a student’s poor grades. In the end, some coaches are bad while some are good, but a simple coaching change seldom changes the trajectory of a franchise. Unfortunately, NFL front offices are heavily influenced by their fanbases, so the impulsive tradition of firing head coaches will not dissipate anytime soon. Look at the Chicago Bears: they are on their fifth head coach in ten years and have not won a playoff game since 2010.
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