LAKE FOREST, Ill. — As the team continues through a difficult 2023 season that saw another coach depart the staff on Wednesday, is Matt Eberflus not long for the Bears?

Ryan Poles seemed to indicate that is not the case.

In a news conference at Halas Hall on Wednesday, one in which he addressed not only the firing of running backs coach David Walker but also the team’s struggles through eight games, the general manager defended the head coach’s work the last year-and-a-half.

This comes as Eberflus has a 5-20 record entering Sunday’s game against the Saints in New Orleans at Noon.

“Every day, when I see him address the team and I see his approach through adversity, it is stable, man,” said Poles of Eberflus. “I know in 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. He has high integrity, the people he’s brought in here, he’s done the work to make sure that they’re the people they’re supposed to be.

“Again, we hold that standard, if it doesn’t follow that, and people aren’t acting that way, they’re not here.”

There are many who disagree with that, especially considering the team has failed to show significant improvement during his 25 games in charge. They’ve yet to win consecutive games under Eberflus, and four of their six losses this year have been by double digits, including a 30-13 defeat to the Chargers last Sunday.

Let Poles isn’t backing down from his faith in his first head coaching hire, maintaining that what people have seen on the field isn’t a reflection of Ebeflus.

“But the way that he holds everything down here is incredible, for how loud it is, how tough it is. If you look at this team, watch them, 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.’ Most teams fold, and they’re not folding,” said Poles. “It’s been hard. It’s been really hard, especially from where we started last year, trying to build this and do it the right way.

“What I see from him on a daily basis and how he gets his team ready on a weekly basis, to me, I see a grown man that has leadership skills to get this thing out of the hole and to where it needs to be.”

Only time will tell if Poles’ faith will be rewarded.