The Bears endured one of the most chaotic weeks in their history.
On Wednesday, it kicked off with Justin Fields making --- what some interpreted to be --- controversial comments about the coaching staff. He mentioned his struggle playing freely, saying he plays "robotic" when the coaches feed him an overload of information.
The comments were wildly misconstrued by some, framing them as if Fields was placing all the blame on the staff. Fields clarified his comments after seeing how they were being interpreted. He gathered reporters to his locker to clear the air.
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That was only the beginning.
Alan Williams, the now-former defensive coordinator of the Bears, resigned from his position hours after Fields' comments. He cited family and health challenges as reasons for his departure. Williams' abrupt departure from the team created an additional stir.
The team reached rock bottom if they hadn't been there already.
Where do the Bears go from here?
Bears News
Matt Eberflus affirms he's been through situations like this and shared what he told the team following the chaotic day.
"I told them every day after practice, I said, ‘Lean in and lean on each other,'" Eberflus said Friday. "We’ve been spending time building relationships with each other and that locker room is tight. It’s a tight locker room. You can see it in the way that they practice, and we’re just going to keep pounding the rock. That to me is really good, how they practiced today and the energy they had out there tells me everything about the bond they have and the relationship they have as partners, as teammates in the locker room."
The aftermath of Williams' resignation was confusing.
The Bears, along with Williams' statement, released a one-sentence statement of their own; Eberflus told the media not to read too much into the Bears' perspective. Then, over the week, the assistant defensive coaches, and Eberflus, were rigid on the subject. They urged to maintain focus on playing the Chiefs on Sunday.
Tyrique Stevenson admitted to the media on Thursday the team hadn't yet broached the subject of Williams. The coaches refrained from speaking of Williams with the team. Finally, on Friday, Eberflus said he explained the situation to the team.
These things are never easy to overcome. For one, the Bears already have their plate full as they stand winless this season, and without a win over their last 12 games dating back to last season. They've been scrutinized plenty.
Eberflus chose to find the silver lining through it all, ascertaining these things tend to make teams closer. He believes the adversity will bring the best out of the team.
"That’s when you see real leadership," Eberflus said. "That’s when you step up and go around and talk to everybody, visit with everybody, make sure everybody is squared away, make sure they understand the vision for the football team and where it’s going. I think that’s the most important thing you do.
"Me and Ryan, as soon as all this stuff started to go down, went boom, came together. What’s going to be the vision for the week? How are we going to do this? It was lock step with ownership, with the president. It was good. It was good the way we came together."