LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- For weeks, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus has batted away and dodged questions about his future in Chicago. Eberflus has constantly cited being "where his feet are" and having the necessary conversations with general manager Ryan Poles and president Kevin Warren when the season ends.
But as the Bears started to play better and rack up wins over the final month of the season, Eberflus has seemed like a man whose season won't finish with a hard conversation on "Black Monday." The Bears are 5-2 in their last seven and two fourth-quarter collapses from being 7-0 in the playoff picture.
Things appear to be trending in the right direction at Halas Hall, and Eberflus feels the Bears' turnaround shows he should return for Year 3.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
“I feel really good about where this team is," Eberflus said Friday. "This team is on the rise. I feel really good about the second half of the season, where the whole football team is going right now. I love the camaraderie and the relationships we’ve built. You could certainly see the progress, so yeah, I feel good about it.”
When asked if he "expected" to be back, Eberflus once again evaded.
“Expect is a word of expectation," Eberflus said. "That’s a word that belongs into the future, right? We’re gonna have those meetings. I welcome those meetings during the course of the next few days after the game. Right now we’re focused on this game.”
CHICAGO BEARS
At the moment, everything points to Eberflus returning. No Bears coach has been fired after beating the Packers since Mike Ditka in 1992.
Eberflus sees growth and progress. Now that the wins have come over the last month, his players have proof of concept.
The Bears have moved from the NFL basement to the middle. Their arrow is pointing up, entering a critical offseason.
Eberflus believes that's enough for him to see another year.