Keenan Allen hints at untapped potential during his Bears tenure, suggesting Matt Eberflus's coaching held the talented roster back.
Keenan Allen has spent the majority of his NFL career with the Los Angeles Chargers, but he also played one season with the Chicago Bears.
Allen spent the 2024 season with the Bears, the last year Matt Eberflus was the head coach. Allen put up some decent numbers, finishing with 744 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. He finished second on the team in receiving yards behind D.J. Moore (966).
The 2024 season is one that Bears fans would like to forget.
After a promising 4-2 start, the Bears went on a 10-game losing streak, during which Eberflus was fired. Chicago ended that season 5-12.
Allen spoke ahead of the Super Bowl with current Chargers teammate Ladd McConkey and was asked if it surprised him that the Bears had success in 2025.
The receiver shared that he felt like the team was held back in 2024, and the interviewer said it was because of Eberflus, which made Allen laugh as he threw some shade at the former Bears HC.
"Absolutely not," Allen said. "You know, when I was there, the team that we had there, a lot of talent, thought we was held back. I won't give the specifics, but we were kinda held back. The roster was definitely in a good place, where we coulda done some things, as they did this year. Definitely hats off to them. They did a great job."
Fans saw firsthand just how much Eberflus' decision-making cost the team in terms of wins.
You can look back at the Thanksgiving game with the Detroit Lions, where Eberflus wasted time instead of calling a timeout, and it cost the Bears the win.
When asked about the decision in the post-game presser, he blamed it on Caleb Williams. This is a much different approach than Ben Johnson and his staff have taken in the past. We saw defensive coordinator Dennis Allen take the blame for some mistakes earlier this season.
The Bears have been able to keep Allen this offseason but have lost other assistants, like Declan Doyle and Eric Bieniemy, to other opportunities.
The former Bears receiver just said what every Chicago fan has been thinking ever since Eberflus was fired. Thankfully, it's a much different vibe in the Windy City with Johnson in charge.
Even if Johnson does make mistakes, he'll take accountability for them, which is not something Bears fans were used to with Eberflus.