Chicago Bears fire running backs coach David Walker — the 2nd assistant to exit since the season began

Bears running backs coach David Walker speaks after practice on June 7, 2023, during organized team activities at Halas Hall. (Brian Cassella, Brian Cassella)

PUBLISHED: November 1, 2023 at 8:22 p.m. | UPDATED: November 1, 2023 at 9:42 p.m.

For 11 minutes Wednesday morning, Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus met with reporters at Halas Hall and tried to spin the yarn of an NFL team heading in the right direction.

Eberflus described the culture he has been trying to establish for almost two years in Lake Forest as “awesome,” asserted that the last-place Bears are “turning a corner” and, on multiple occasions, pointed to the team’s .500 record over the last month as evidence they have legitimate reasons to feel encouraged and optimistic.

But that messaging might not resonate with most of an outside audience that has watched the Bears continually stumble on the field — they are 5-20 under Eberflus — while experiencing repeated tumult behind the scenes, the most recent being Wednesday’s sudden firing of running backs coach David Walker for what is believed to be concerning misconduct.

“As the head coach,” Eberflus said, “we are building a program and have standards to uphold as a staff and organization both on and off the field. And those standards were not met.”

Eberflus said the decision to fire Walker was made after he consulted with and gained the support of general manager Ryan Poles and team President Kevin Warren.

“It’s disappointing from my vantage point,” Eberflus said. “But we have a standard to uphold. When that standard is not met, we act accordingly. And that’s what we did today.”

Added Poles: “We have expectations here. Those come from me, Kevin, George (McCaskey) and Matt. If you don’t meet those expectations with how you move around this building, how you treat people, how you talk to people and how you act, you don’t belong here.”

Walker is the second member of Eberflus’ staff to exit Halas Hall in the last six weeks following the abrupt late-September resignation of defensive coordinator Alan Williams, whose departure from the organization, according to multiple sources, was conduct-related.

With so much failure on the field and so much instability in the coaching ranks, does Eberflus believe there is a culture problem with his team? “Absolutely not,” he said. “The culture in our building is outstanding. The guys work hard every single day. The relationship piece is there. We care about each other. We’re working diligently to get this thing turned (around).

“We’re 2-2 in our last four (games). One game (against the Vikings) was real close. We had a chance at that one. We really feel we’re turning the corner and we are excited about this week. But to answer the question, our culture is awesome.”

The Bears remain in last place in the NFC North and are coming off a 30-13 blowout loss on “Sunday Night Football” to the Los Angeles Chargers. That was the team’s third loss this season by at least 15 points and the ninth during Eberflus’ tenure.

The Bears hired Walker to coach their running backs in early February 2022, less than two weeks after Eberflus came aboard as head coach. Walker had been out of coaching for the previous three seasons with his most recent NFL stop coming with the Detroit Lions from 2016-18.

Now 53, Walker was in his ninth season as an NFL assistant with his first such gig coming with the Indianapolis Colts from 2011-14.

After leading the NFL in rushing a year ago — propelled largely by an explosive 1,143-yard season from quarterback Justin Fields — the Bears rank sixth this season, averaging 132.8 rushing yards per game.

Still, Eberflus dodged direct questions Wednesday about whether Walker’s removal was for behavioral reasons and not connected to his football coaching ability.

Eberflus was later asked about his vetting process for hiring coaches.

“The evaluation process is what it is,” Eberflus said. “You make your phone calls. You do your due diligence. You bring them in for an interview. You have phone conversations. You ask people who are associated and so forth and so on. So that’s that.”

With Walker gone, Omar Young will oversee the running backs. Young, who is in his second season with the Bears, was an offensive quality control coach in 2022 and transitioned into being an assistant quarterbacks and receivers coach this year.

This has been another rocky ride for the Bears with a couple of October victories hardly enough to offset the team’s dispiriting 0-4 start.

The Bears were trounced 38-20 by the rival Green Bay Packers to open the season at Soldier Field. Two weeks later, they trailed the Kansas City Chiefs 41-0 midway through the third quarter in an eventual 31-point loss. And in Week 4, they blew a 28-3 lead at home in a 31-28 loss to the Denver Broncos.

The Bears’ two wins, meanwhile, were against the Washington Commanders and Las Vegas Raiders, a pair of teams experiencing their own turbulence.

The Commanders held a fire sale before the league’s trade deadline Tuesday, dealing away defensive ends Montez Sweat and Chase Young and backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett. And the Raiders, coming off consecutive losses to the Bears and Detroit Lions, fired general manager Dave Ziegler and coach Josh McDaniels late Tuesday.

Still, Eberflus was clinging to positives Wednesday, expressing confidence in the improvement of his defense, the reliability of the running game on offense and the Bears’ ability to secure a Week 7 win over the Raiders with starting quarterback Justin Fields injured and rookie Tyson Bagent starting in his place.

“The guys are positive, upbeat and looking forward to New Orleans,” Eberflus said.

Poles, meanwhile, continued to express his unwavering belief in Eberflus as a leader.

“What I see every day when I see him address the team and when I see his approach to adversity, it is stable,” Poles said. “I know to the outside world, it doesn’t look like that. And I know it looks like we’re far away. But this dude comes in every day and just keeps chipping away. … The way he holds everything down here is incredible for how loud it is, how tough it is.

“This team, you watch them and they fight. I know this past weekend wasn’t great. But you can’t watch that team and be like, ‘Oh, they’re going to fold.’ ”

Still, with Walker’s firing affecting the building and overshadowing the trade for Sweat, Eberflus acknowledged the sullen mood.

“We’re all disappointed,” he said. “It’s never good when this has to happen. Certainly a disappointment. But I do know this, adversity does make you stronger in your personal life, in your team life. It’s just how you come through it. It’s how you respond to it.”

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