Bears GM Ryan Poles is banking on coach Matt Eberflus to steer team's best roster in years

CANTON, Ohio — General manager Ryan Poles had 10 practices to evaluate his Bears heading into the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday, when all the starters and even some second-stringers sat out against the Texans.

It’ll take much longer for the Bears to fully implement their scheme, and they have plenty of time with three more preseason games and more than five weeks left until the season opener, but Poles should have a clear view of the talent landscape by now. He has seen enough to have a sense of where the roster is stacked and starved.

The Bears believe they’ve outfitted the roster to the point where rookie Caleb Williams is stepping into an unusually favorable situation for a quarterback who was picked at or near the top of the draft. Even if Williams endures the typical turbulence for rookies, the Bears have enough talent around him to give themselves a chance.

If he’s great, of course, that changes everything. Then the Bears would go from hoping to sneak into the playoffs to possibly making some noise. C.J. Stroud got the Texans to the second round of the playoffs as a rookie last season with far less help.

But there are spots to shore up, regardless. In the rosiest projections for the Bears, they still have more to add before they can legitimately contend for a championship. They’ve unquestionably come a long way but still don’t compare favorably to the Chiefs, 49ers, Eagles, Ravens and — in their own division — Lions.

Poles’ options for patching holes are limited at this point. For the most part, the Bears are banking on a combination of young players making leaps and the coaching staff tailoring schemes to maximize what they have and cover up what they don’t.

Those efforts fall under the purview of Matt Eberflus. Poles built what appears to be a playoff-caliber roster, but the actual usage of it hinges on a coach who tiptoed right up to the line of being fired last season.

Eberflus has the most to prove in the Bears’ chain of command. His most challenging job other than ensuring the proper development of Williams is to devise ways to make up for what the Bears are lacking in the pass rush.

Eberflus will remain the defensive play-caller, not coordinator Eric Washington, and if he doesn’t find a way to manufacture at least a decent pass rush, it’ll be impossible for the Bears to achieve their dream of having a top-five defense.

He also has to oversee a sturdy offensive line, and while that’s not his direct responsibility, everything goes back to him. As Eberflus acknowledged when the Bears hired him: A defensive-minded head coach can be fired for a bad offense.

And given the overall improvements Poles has made to the roster over the last two offseasons, Eberflus has little margin for the Bears to be bad at anything.