Matt Eberflus was not the head coaching hire I saw coming. While I understood and accepted the Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator as a viable candidate, I always felt he wasn’t the favorite for the job. To me, it was Dan Quinn with Brian Daboll as the dark horse. So when new GM Ryan Poles made Eberflus the guy, I started wondering how it could be he managed to beat out more obvious candidates.
Then on Friday, January 29th I got in contact with an NFL source offering an opinion on the choice. I anticipated the usual cautious optimism or candid skepticism. The most common reactions from most of the media and Bears fans. That is not what happened though. Two things stood out from the quote. What he expected Eberflus to do in handling the roster and what coach he compares most favorably to.
“In Eberflus, I think it’s a great hire. Listen, he’s not gonna call the defense. He’s gonna be a CEO. He’s gonna move to a game manager. Your celling is John Harbaugh. You should be excited.”
That name drop shocked me.
Harbaugh is one of the five best coaches in the NFL. A Super Bowl winner that has led the Baltimore Ravens to 10 winning seasons since 2008. Admittedly I struggled to trust what the source was saying. It all sounded too good to be true. Then the opening press conference happened. Adam Hoge of NBC Sports Chicago asked the pivotal question on whether Eberflus would call plays for the defense moving forward. His answer opened my eyes in a big way.
There it was. Indisputable confirmation of what I was told. There would be no taking the Matt Nagy approach. Eberflus was going to hand play calling duties off to one of his trusted staff members and he would focus all of his time and effort on being the head coach. Exactly the way Harbaugh has operated for over a decade now. Then for good measure, another source chimed in with a slightly more…direct reaction.
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“It’s about f**king time the NFC got their own John Harbaugh!”
If Matt Eberflus is indeed that then the Bears are in great shape
Two of the things that have made Harbaugh such a sustained success in Baltimore? His ability to motivate but also his mastery at working to the strengths of the players he has. To go from a quarterback like Joe Flacco, a pure pocket passer, to the electric mobility of Lamar Jackson and just keep winning is a testament to that. People thought the man was crazy when he completely remade his offensive staff after the Ravens drafted Jackson in 2018. A year later the quarterback was MVP of the league.
Matt Eberflus has a long way to go before he’s in that same conversation, but it sure sounds like he exhibits the same mentality. There were multiple instances where he said his job is working to the strengths of his players. Something he proved several times during his successful run in Indianapolis and also as linebackers coach in Dallas.
Bears fans should be excited.
If this is the NFC version of John Harbaugh, then Ryan Poles’ decision to hire him will be seen as one of the great turning points in franchise history. The biggest challenges are still to come though. Namely building the roster back up to a level where it can compete for the division and play meaningful football in January.
