The NFL Draft is quickly approaching, and the Chicago Bears are in the midst of one of the most significant decisions in the team’s recent history due to significant coaching changes.
They have to choose whether to retain quarterback Justin Fields, and they are hoping that adding former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator and creative offensive mind Shane Waldron to the offensive coordinator position would help Fields reach new heights.
Alternatively, they will let go of the former Ohio State signal caller, who had ups and downs when playing for Chicago but lacked consistency in his coaching staff before ultimately landing a very explosive No. 1 wide out in DJ Moore in 2023. In that scenario, it appears as though Caleb Williams will be selected by the Chicago Bears with the first overall choice in the April Draft by default.
The Bears are looking for a new coordinator for their defence because Alan Williams left the position a few weeks into the 2023 campaign. Bears head coach Matt Eberflus took over as the team’s defensive coordinator.
After a mid-season trade for superstar pass rusher Montez Sweat, Chicago’s defence moved from being a subpar team to one of the best in the NFL. However, in the most important year of his time with the Bears, Eberflus appears to want to concentrate just on his role as head coach.
Will any of these significant improvements help the Bears overcome their rival Packers, who have won the last nine games between the two NFC North teams during the regular season? is one important question.
Perhaps, perhaps not. However, a writer for the Bears thinks that a big decision that Green Bay has made will directly help Chicago going ahead.
The dismissal of defensive coordinator Joe Barry earlier this week has most Packers fans celebrating. Barry was under constant criticism for his defense’s huge play surrenders, talent waste, and out-coaching by opposing offensive coordinators. However, one writer for Sports Illustrated thinks the move was the best thing that could have happened for the Bears.
Here’s what SI Bears writer Gene Chamberlain had to say about how Chicago will gain a lot going ahead from the Packers benching Barry.
Barry’s Packers defences have defeated the Bears six times in a row. Yes, in four of those, Aaron Rodgers was present. Neither did Aaron Rodgers make tackles or cover anybody.
Joe Barry oversaw defence for the Packers from 2021 to 2023.
In those six games, the Chicago Bears just once exceeded 20 points against the Packers. For the six games, they only scored 17 points on average. In today’s NFL, teams who score 17 points on average rarely win. The Jets, Patriots, Giants, and Panthers were the NFL clubs this season with an average of no more than 17. There were only 29 victories shared by that group.
The Bears’ closest chance of defeating the Packers while Barry was the defensive coordinator came in the season-ending 17-9 loss at Lambeau Field.
Given that Justin Fields was the Bears quarterback for the whole six-game stretch, it could be simple to blame him if this concluded here. It might also be attributed to the Bears offense’s incompetence, even though two different offensive coordinators and head coaches led the team.
But in 2015 and 2016, Barry oversaw the defence for the Washington Redskins, and in both of those campaigns, they triumphed over the Bears.
He has thus defeated the Bears in eight straight games under three different coaches.
A valid point was made by Chamberlain, who even recommended that Joe Barry be employed in some capacity by the Chicago Bears. Whether the Packers can continue their winning run with their new defensive coordinator remains to be seen.
