Bears head coach Matt Eberflus’ offseason work has drawn rave reviews from those asked about it.

That’s a positive development for someone who was answering legitimate questions about his job status last year. A 2-7 start in 2023, following a three-win campaign in ’22, will bring heat. Eberflus felt his fair share, but weathered the tough times and helped the Bears finish 5-3 down the stretch.

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Chicago stayed the course at head coach. Eberflus moved forward making sure the Bears were as prepared as possible for a 2024 season where the roster received significant upgrades in free agency and the NFL draft, leading to raised expectations this fall.

Getting through tough periods without losing conviction isn’t easy. Ryan Poles was impressed most that he found a way to do exactly that.

“I think (it’s) his resilience. From where our roster was and for how far we knew it had to go, to set a standard and hold everybody to that is extremely difficult,” the Bears general manager said. “To keep a team together through adversity is extremely difficult. But, at the end of the day, what’s going to be awesome is that those things are going to be established. And then, when the winning comes, you have a stronger product because of it. I really look at the resilience piece of it.

“It’s so hard, with pressure, to stay the course. When you want be – when there’s a lot of noise about doing different things and changes and all that, to hold the line, it takes a special man to do that.”

Having conviction doesn’t mean you have to be stubborn. That’s also something that Poles noted regarding Eberflus’ work.

“The ability to adapt an adjust — you can see that on a daily basis,” Poles said. “He’s always trying to get better. Taking the feedback from players (in terms of) what do we need to change? What do we need to adjust? What are you guys seeing? How are you feeling? And then making the tweaks, that relationship has been incredible.”

Eberflus’ approach to team building has been important, especially with so many new faces in the building.

“It’s the relationships,” Poles said. “He has had every single person on our team over at his house. They spend time there, to get to know him better. There are activities that he did, and that was done intentionally. It wasn’t just to do it and check a box. It was to really invest in our players and build that trust, because you need that.”

Several players were asked about Eberflus’ performance over the last week-plus, and the answers were all somewhat similar. They focused on continuity as key, when enough returning players around to help smoothly transition to Eberflus’ defensive scheme and philosophy. Linebacker T.J. Edwards said that football IQ is big with Eberflus, that knowing situational football and playing smart will allow you to run and hit and play fast. There’s a lot of off-field work involved in that, but commitment to that grind should pay off during games.

There’s an also adjustment period learning how to operate. That’s especially true with new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron in the fray, meaning time had to be spent installing the scheme and making sure HC and OC were on the same page regarding the call and flow of a game. That work has been done. Now the Bears are at a point with all that where they feel comfortable and ready to start the regular season.

“He stays true to himself, which we all respect,” tight end Cole Kmet said. “I think that’s why, you know, last year when things started off not so great, we all really had his back. And we all feel that for him. So yeah, just him being him.

“I think at the end of the day, now that we’ve got the talent that we’ve got, we as players have got to take part ownership of this thing and take this thing over.”

The Bears kickoff the season on Sunday, September 8 at noon vs. the Titans. Tune in to the Marquee Sports Network App immediately after the game for The Official Bears Postgame Live presented by United Airlines. For more information on how to watch, click here: https://www.marqueesportsnetwork.com/shows/bearspostgame/.