It was probably a new day in Chicago. In the end it’s same old, same old.
The NFL has dysfunctional teams. And as our friend Big Cat says, dysfunctional teams do dysfunctional things. (The attached video has a new twist on that line.)
Dysfunction stems from the top of an organization and affects everyone below it. And even now that the Bears have strengthened the top of the front office, ousting Ted Phillips and replacing him with Kevin Warren, there’s only so much Warren can do to turn the tide.
That gives Warren the benefit of the doubt regarding the bizarre decision to let coach Matt Eberflus hold the press conference a day after firing him. Bear’s owner was sure he would come under fire about his job. They were sure he would be inclined to exude confidence – especially if they didn’t fire him or at least postpone his press conference.
That’s what should have happened. For any team on the fence about firing its coach on the day he’s scheduled to hold a press conference, postpone the press conference.
Having Eberflus do his press conference before being fired is the front office equivalent of the clock management disaster that prompted the franchise’s unprecedented decision to fire a head coach during the season.
Wherever the decision came from, it’s something that illustrates why bad teams stay bad. They do things that defy common sense off the field. That lack of common sense finds its way onto the field.
Whatever the reason for Eberflus’ dismissal after his press conference, it should not have happened that way. Unless he wasn’t fired before the press conference and had done something during or after the press conference to justify his firing, a functioning team would have fired him before the press conference. Or it would have postponed the press conference.
Functionality is a pass-fail test. The Bears failed badly on Friday. For anyone wondering how the pro football team in a big city with the passion for football in a much smaller city does it: don’t be.
Dysfunctional teams do dysfunctional things. Thursday at the end of the game and Friday after Eberflus’ press conference, the Bears did dysfunctional things.
The only question is whether they will continue to do dysfunctional things.
