After finishing 3-14 in 2022, the Bears more than doubled their win total in posting a 7-10 record in 2023. They rebounded from a 2-7 start to win five of seven games before losing the season finale to the Packers.
Poles told reporters that he was disappointed the Bears were unable to finish some games but was pleased with the strides the team made.
“I’m really proud of where we are and where we’re going,” he said. “We came up a little bit short of our goals this year, but I have no doubt where this team is going.”
Poles and Eberflus lauded the performances of Pro Bowlers Montez Sweat and Jaylon Johnson as well as additional key players such as Justin Fields, DJ Moore, Cole Kmet, T.J. Edwards, Tremaine Edmunds, Kyler Gordon, Jaquan Brisker, Eddie Jackson and Cairo Santos, among others.
“They put everything they have into this season,” Eberflus said. “We came out, the last part, really starting to play really good football. That was because of their hard work, the investment they had. They improved and they grew as individual players, and we grew as a football team. And you could certainly feel that during the year.”
Poles praised Eberflus for “his leadership through hard times,” which included an 0-4 start and off-the-field issues.
“We had some adversity early in the season, in the middle of the season,” Poles said. “His ability to stand strong and keep the team together was incredible, his ability to adapt and adjust as we went along.
“I really think that the head coach needs to be able to captain the ship when the seas are stormy and really keep everything settled. When you go through hard times and he can keep everyone together, to me, that’s the critical piece. In a big market like this, you have to be strong. I mean, if he’s jumping off the boat and everyone else starts jumping off the boat, it’s a hot mess. The stability was a big piece of it.
“The details that he coaches with, taking some of the mistakes from the game, bringing them to practice and making sure that we’re doing things the right way, I saw a lot of progress in that.
“There’s a reason why we went from three to seven wins. There are. The player aspect of it is important, but also the detail and bringing a team together. Sticking through those hard times allowed us to push through, and you saw a lot of those wins happening towards the back end of the season. If it’s not for him, I really don’t think that’s the case.”
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