Starting 2024 Chicago Bears training camp, Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles brandish new theme for new-look Bears
LAKE FOREST, Ill. - So much talk of the "new look" Chicago Bears has gripped an entire city and a fan base starved for football success.
Throughout the offseason, Bears general manager Ryan Poles stressed how difficult it was going to be, from rookies to the veterans, to make this Bears team.
That mindset has developed into a message which took center stage on Friday morning as the 2024 Chicago Bears training camp officially began. This is no longer a rebuild, or even a time when the team will question how much more they have to build.
The Bears have left 2022 and 2023 behind with a developed roster that's been energized with offseason additions.
"You start fresh, and that's what's beautiful about this game," Poles said at Halas Hall on Friday. "The only easy day was yesterday."
Eberflus is taking it a step further. He's extending it to a challenge.
Eberflus said he challenged the Bears to "level up," or keep improving from the day prior. The third-year coach's first message to this team in the first team training camp meeting is to "lead from the front," something that'll be driven by the leveling up.
"Level up in their mental aspect of the game, knowing the scheme, studying and being on it," Eberflus said. "Those all lead to execution and that's really what we were doing there."
Execution is the biggest aspect of it all. Especially now.
The idea that the Bears can win games this season isn't farfetched. They have a favorable schedule, a generational quarterback prospect, perhaps the best receiver room in franchise history and a Bears defense that's expecting to be a top-five unit in the NFL.
Before, when the Bears were in a rebuilding phase, they had to align young talent alongside locker room personalities that will help the young players develop in a ruthless league on a team that's prioritizing development.
Those young players have developed. The coaches are looking past personality now.
"We've acquired and drafted well over the last few years and our rosters better now, so there's more competition and we welcome that," Eberflus said. "We have to evaluate the number as coaches, right? Don't look at the person, the personality, look at what he's doing on the grass."
LAKE FOREST, ILLINOIS - JUNE 05: Head coach Matt Eberflus of the Chicago Bears speaks during a news conference after the Chicago Bears mandatory minicamp at Halas Hall on June 05, 2024 in Lake Forest, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
Through the offseason programs, Eberflus and Poles got a better understanding of what talents this team can bring to the table.
Rookie Caleb Williams, first-year offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and new weapons headlining the offense have highlighted the kind of talent that can bring massive production to the grass. The defense, with the biggest change being the leadership first-year defensive coordinator Eric Washington brings, has been in place since the second half of the 2023 season.
Poles knew this year was going to be much different than the past two years. Having the No. 1 overall pick and using it on the game's most important position was a sign of that.
With the differences in mind, Poles said he has an idea of what the final roster is going to look like. But within that idea there needs to be the competition that pushes the team forward.
"You really have that 53-man roster in your mind," Poles said. "You're looking at certain competition to see where it's tight or not. The biggest thing during training camp is just the health – managing healthy guys that are there, if you need to bring anyone in – and really just watching that competition. That's what it comes down to."
As the Bears watch that competition, they'll be keeping that new theme in mind.
The players are all in place, and this is the roster Eberflus and Poles are giving the keys to try and win the games to achieve the bottom line that's always seemed out of reach.
Above all, the Bears have always understood the bottom line. That's the same goal every team in the NFL has to share. It's the goal Poles has laid out since his first day at Halas Hall in January 2022.
"Our goal is always to win a Super Bowl," Poles said, "and to take the division."
Friday was clear: the franchise believes it's ready to take a major step toward that.
"We know what we have," Bears linebacker Trumaine Edmunds said. "It's time to work."
Featured
From 'Hard Knocks' to specific development: 5 storylines to watch at the start of Chicago Bears training camp
Here are the storylines to watch at the start of Chicago Bears training camp this week, including the spotlight that will be on one of the Bears' rookies.