Chicago Bears, McCaskey Hope Name Game Delivers Winning Results

CHICAGO ­— If the Chicago Bears hoped to usher in a new tradition of winning football on Monday when they introduced their new head coach and general manager, perhaps moving away from a Matt and Ryan partnership may have been a good first step. But, here we are.

On a day meant to represent a fresh start, first-time NFL coach Matt Eberflus and first-time NFL general manager Ryan Poles made their official debuts at Halas Hall, tasked with getting one of the NFL’s founding franchises back on track. As far as first impressions go, though, the intensity with which Eberflus insists his team will personify didn’t exactly knock anyone over.

With the exception of Poles’ promise that the Bears will “take the (NFC) North and never give it back”, Monday’s getting-to-know-you with the new Matt and Ryan combination that replaced the Matt and Ryan that were fired for not delivering on their promises was, at least on the surface, about as buttoned-up and uninspiring as one might expect from a McCaskey-run operation.

When one reporter attempted to add snark to a question for McCaskey by asking, "Really? Matt and Ryan?", the Bears chairman rolled his eyes without rolling his eyes and refused to dignify the inquiry with a response outside of a drawn out, “Oh, thank you.”

And the H.I.T.S. keep on coming at Halas Hall. But for Eberflus, that is by design.

And yet, the Bears chairman who personally drove to O’Hare, paid $3 to park in the White Sox level of the garage and met his new general manager-to-be at baggage claim insists that after interviewing 13 general manager candidates and 10 potential head coaches in 14 days, the Bears got it right with the new Matt and Ryan.

That, of course, isn’t to be confused with the time that the Bears swore they got it right the last time they went with an up-and-coming general manager named Ryan Pace and a first-time NFL head coach named Matt Nagy. The difference? The Bears are insisting this time around will be better even though they aren't even willing to make the length of the Poles and Eberflus contracts public out of respect for Ryan and Matt, by George.

So, after all of that, what do we know? Eberflus, the former Colts defensive coordinator, said the Bears will play a 4-3 defense for which he won’t call plays. Not his job, the head coach said. The mild-mannered coach who swears he has an intense side, pledged that the Bears will be fast-paced, aggressive and disciplined. To make it easier, Eberflus promised Bears fans that the artists formerly known as the Monsters of the Midway will play with a H.I.T.S. mentality.

H — Hustle: “We’re going to be an effort-based team,” Eberflus said Monday.

I — Intensity: We’ll play with maximum intensity, that’s mental focus and intensity and physical focus and intensity, the coach said.

T — Taking care of the ball and taking the ball away: It’s all about the ball, he said.

S — Smart: We’re going to be smart situational players with no stupid penalties

That all sounds like a recipe for success for football. But talking a good game plan and turning around a football team that hasn’t won a Super Bowl since the Reagan administration are two completely different things. For his part, Poles said the Bears will be a team that builds from the draft by selecting fast, athletic and smart players, that is selective in free agency and that will connect valuation with evaluation.

In addition to his other front-office agenda built around "strong communication and candor" and a "relentless approach to addressing weakness", Poles pledged to put players in the best success to succeed. Again, words before action. The formula isn’t exactly original, but it is apparently one that sold the McCaskey and the Bears hiring team that the young general manager and his “new brother” the head coach, have all of the right ideas to fix what’s been ailing the Bears.

Now, the real work begins. And it's up to Poles and Eberflus to change the culture and prove that McCaskey and company got it right. It begins with a coach that Poles says was the football version of love at first sight. The general manager said Eberflus unknowingly “just started checking off the boxes” which apparently were the same boxes that McCaskey, Hall of Fame consultant Bill Polian and the rest of the search committee wanted checked.

Eberflus said that the first year will be about building a foundation of what the Bears will look like built around that H.I.T.S. approach to NFL football. To me, that sure sounds a lot like a rebuilding effort led by a coach and general manager that are both new to the job while McCaskey and the rest of the leadership group hopes and prays that this Matt and Ryan are somehow better than the last.

Both showed plenty of promise on Day 1, but now need to figure out to to deliver on what they are promising. Monday was long on coach-speak and short on details, including how the Bears plan to get the most out of players, namely, but not singling out, franchise quarterback Justin Fields. That, the coach and general manager both said will be a work in progress between now and when players report for team activities in April.

For now, McCaskey is asking Bears fans to be patient and to trust in a process that replaced one Matt and Ryan with another. He's doing so, hoping that Bears fans either are forgiving or have short memories. If he's right about Eberflus and Poles, McCaskey has the chance to win over a fanbase that has been waiting for a winner. If he's wrong and Matt and Ryan 2.0 can't deliver what they are envisioning and the team is back to square one in four years, McCaskey is hoping that Bears fans will be understanding yet again.

Good luck with that, George.