The Chicago Bears are 4-8, and, despite showing some promise since an 0-4 start, rumors are Matt Eberflus could be coaching his final five games as the team’s head coach.
Per CBS Sports NFL Insider Josina Anderson, team president Kevin Warren and GM Ryan Poles may look no further than Washington Commanders assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who’s in his first season as the team’s play-caller after years in K.C. helping build that juggernaut.
Anderson took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to say:
“I’m told the Bears are expected to have interest in Commanders assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, among others, with general knowledge that current HC Matt Eberflus is under evaluation with the team at (4-8), per source.”
It’s nothing new for Bieniemy’s name to be surfacing amongst possible coaching candidates. It’s been that way for years, but the 54-year-old has never been able to land that elusive head coach position.
Why The Bears?
For a Bears offense that features dynamic dual-threat quarterback Justin Fields, Bieniemy might be what he needs to unlock all that potential.
It also doesn’t hurt that the aforementioned Poles and Bieniemy worked together with the Chiefs, so that could play a factor as well.
With team president Kevin Warren having a huge say in what happens going forward, the belief is he could have Poles move on from Eberflus, which could open the door for Bieniemy.
But let’s get back to Bieniemy’s fit with Fields. This season Fields has shown some improvement when healthy.
In eight starts this season Fields has passed for 1,587 yards, 12 touchdowns, against six interceptions.
In 2021 and 2022 he passed for 24 touchdowns while throwing a whopping 21 interceptions. It’s his 7-26 record as a starter that’s cause for concern.
Chicago Bears Still Rebuilding
But that’s not all his fault, with the Bears roster being in rebuild and devoid of talent at many positions.
How Could Bieniemy Help Justin Fields Throw For 4,000 Yards
For starters, he’d help improve upon Fields’ career 61 percent completion percentage. There would also be more focus on playing the quarterback position from the pocket.
The Bears offense currently ranks 20th, which is an improvement over last season when they were 29th out of 32 NFL clubs.
Bieniemy has helped the Commanders go from 24th to 16th this season, and he’s also helped develop second-year quarterback San Howell with a heavy dose of the passing game.
In fact, Howell is second in the league in passing yards at 3,466 yards with an inconsistent 18 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Barring injury, he’ll easily eclipse the 4,000 yards passing mark.
The Bears are the lone NFL franchise to never have a 4000-yard passer in a season.
Bears Currently Have First And Fifth Overall Pick
The offensive cupboard isn’t bare in Chicago with Fields, wide receiver D.J. Moore and tight end Cole Kmet.
With the first pick that they received from the Panthers from last year’s trade, the Bears don’t need to take a quarterback, they need to draft wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Marvin Sr. Harrison Jr. Junior is considered a generational talent at the position.
On Monday, the Ohio State Buckeyes star was named a Heisman finalist. In the history of the award only four pass-catchers have won the award, and only seven have ever been invited to the ceremony.
Harrison won’t win the award, but to be recognized is an accomplishment. For that reason alone the Bears should be all in on drafting him and putting him opposite the explosive and proven Moore.
Next they should take either Olu Fashanu or Joe Alt at left tackle to protect Fields’ blind side and get an anchor on their offensive line.
If those guys are gone then there’s Alabama’s J.C. Latham, who ranks behind those two.
Washington Commanders Might Promote EB To HC
Who knows what the Bears will do, but they may have a fight on their hands to get EB, with the Commanders likely to move on from lame duck coach Ron Rivera.
Bieniemy’s relationship with Howell is definitely a factor.
