Matt Eberflus remembers the 1985 Chicago Bears well.
The current Bears head coach was a sophomore in high school the last time the Bears won the Super Bowl, and as a defensive-minded guy, he has always found himself drawn to the league’s great defensive units, including that one.
In a March 22 appearance The Peter King podcast, Eberflus discussed numerous topics, including his love of great defenses throughout NFL history, and while he appreciated watching the dominant Pittsburgh Steelers Steel Curtain defense as a kid, he also enjoyed watching Mike Singletary and Richard Dent lead the famed ’85 squad to victory in Super Bowl 20. It remains the team’s lone Super Bowl win.
Eberflus told King he’s not only appreciative of the franchise’s storied history of great defensive players, he’s also making a point to reach out to as many former Bears as possible — and he’s even trying to get one to come in and teach his guys a thing or two.
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Eberflus Says He’s Spoken to 30-35 Former Bears
It didn’t take long for Eberflus, who was hired in late January to replace Matt Nagy, to reach out to myriad former Bears players, including legendary linebackers Dick Butkus and Brian Urlacher.
“I’ve probably talked to 30 or 35 alumni,” Eberflus told King. “You look at your phone, you’ve got (Mike) Ditka, Butkus, you have Julius Peppers, Urlacher, (Lance) Briggs, you know, it’s truly amazing,” he said, before dropping this little nugget: “(Charles) Tillman, Peanut Tillman, hopefully he’s coming in for a spring practice to talk to the team. I got him talked into that, hopefully.”
That would be huge for a Bears team not known for holding its storied alumni base in the high regard it deserves. Team chairman George McCaskey has been criticized in recent years for not tapping into the significant knowledge pool many of his former players possess, and it sounds as though Eberflus is going the opposite route.
Tillman’s 44 forced fumbles over his 13 seasons led the NFL in that span, with the player closest behind him, Hall of Famer Charles Woodson, forcing 23. If he can pass any knowledge on to Chicago’s defensive unit, it’ll be a great thing.
1. Charles Tillman: 44 2. Charles Woodson: 23 3. Roman Harper: 16
When King asked if Tillman was going to teach Bears defenders his famed “Peanut Punch,” Eberflus didn’t hesitate.
“Oh, he’s going to.”
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Contacting Alumni Huge Step Forward for Bears
Considering recent criticisms, having alumni such as Tillman come by to spend time with and teach current players is invaluable.
This change in mindset is also likely coming from new general manager Ryan Poles, who Eberflus spoke highly of on King’s podcast.
“I just see emotional stability, emotional intelligence,” Eberflus said about Poles. “To me, to have emotional intelligence means that you’re able to, during adversity, keep everything calm, look at the information, get opinions from everybody, and then make the best decision for the organization.”
It’s early in the Poles-Eberflus tenure, but this is a good way to begin getting the franchise back on track.
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