Report: Bears hiring Colts DC Matt Eberflus as new head coach
The Chicago Bears have reportedly found a replacement for the fired Matt Nagy. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, they've hired Matt Eberflus, defensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts, as their new head coach.
Former Colts’ defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus is being hired as the head coach of the Chicago Bears, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 27, 2022
Eberflus, 51, is a football lifer, but has never been a head coach at any level until now. He started his career at the college level, working as an assistant at Toledo (his alma mater) and Missouri for 17 years before he came to the NFL. He was hired by the Cleveland Browns to be their linebackers coach in 2009, and after two seasons he moved on to the Dallas Cowboys, spending 7 years as their linebackers coach.
In 2018, Eberflus joined Josh McDaniels' coaching staff on the Colts, which turned into Frank Reich's coaching staff after McDaniels reneged on the agreement and stayed with the New England Patriots. Over Eberflus' four seasons with the Colts, his defense finished with the second-most takeaways in the league and the third-fewest yards per carry. In three of the four years, the Colts finished in the top 10 in points allowed.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, newly hired general manager Ryan Poles conducted Eberflus' second interview. Poles reportedly interviewed former Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell on Tuesday, his first day of work, and interviewed Dan Quinn and Eberflus on his second day. Quinn, currently the defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys, reportedly informed teams on Thursday that he was staying with Dallas and removed himself from consideration for any other jobs.
