Ask any fan of the Chicago Bears to wax poetic about the Matt Eberflus era, they’ll likely hit you with some prose that sounds like Edgar Allan Poe was the one who wrote it. Any description of that tenure that I could provide will turn out to be as grim and dark as ‘The Bells’, but what I can tell you is that Eberflus was 14-32 as the head coach of the Bears, and even as I type that out, I’m legitimately stunned that win total is as high as 14.
As this Sunday approaches, with Eberflus returning to Soldier Field as the defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys, it’s not surprising that we’re revisiting his two-and-a-half season tenure in Chicago. And just because the most sincere compliment I could pay to the Matt Eberflus era was that he grew one hell of a beard ahead of a his final season coaching the Bears, it doesn’t mean that the guys in Chicago’s locker room who played for Flus don’t have much nicer things to say about someone who by all accounts is a much better man than he was a head coach.
“We didn’t win enough and all that, but I’ve got fond memories of Flus and I have a lot of respect for him as a man and as a coach,” tight end Cole Kmet said, per Chris Kwiecinski of FOX 32 Chicago. “I think he instilled a really hard work ethic here.”
“We had some good times with coach Flus,” linebacker Tremaine Edmunds added, and to Eberflus’ credit, there was a point during the 2023 season when his defense kicked it into gear and played like a top ten unit for multiple months in a row.
Matt Eberflus Reflects on Bears Tenure
In line with what many of his former players have said about him, Matt Eberflus predictably didn’t have a bad word to say about his time with the Bears either.
“I always loved working with the players there. We played some good ball,” Eberflus told reporters on September 18. “When you become a head coach, it’s a different job so you learn a lot of things. The experiences there, certainly I cherish all of those.”
Eberflus noted that he’s not thinking about the welcome he’ll receive from fans at Soldier Field on Sunday afternoon, but deep down, you know the thought has crossed his mind, even if only as a glancing thought in the midst of preparing for a Bears offense with a new play-caller, some new weapons, and a whole lot of desperation.
What Can Bears Expect From Matt Eberflus’ Cowboys D?
First and foremost, the Bears offense can expect perhaps an equally desperate Cowboys defense to come into Soldier Field on Sunday afternoon. Last weekend, Dallas was lit up by Russell Wilson and the New York Giants. It took a 64-yard field goal from Brandon Aubrey and some offensive heroics just for the Boys to survive and avoid an 0-2 hole of their own.
We have to play better team defense,” Eberflus said of his unit’s performance last weekend, per Kevin Patra of NFL.com. “We’ve all got to be on the same page, we’ve got to do a good job of alignments and key technique, and playing clean football.”
Schematically, the Bears know what they’ll be getting from Eberflus. Historically, there’s a way that Flus’ defenses operate and in all likelihood, the Cowboys won’t deviate much from that this week. But as Eberflus once said coming back from the halftime break of a nationally televised game, he might have a few tricks up his sleeve on Sunday.
He might throw a lot of curveballs at us,” Bears receiver DJ Moore said of Eberflus. “Knowing him, he’ll do the zone concepts, so we’re gonna see a bunch of that, hopefully. Hopefully they’ll throw some man in there so we can go after them.”
Fortunately for the Bears, new head coach Ben Johnson has a pretty solid track record going up against Eberflus dating back to his time as the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions.
Dating back to the start of Eberflus’ tenure in 2022, the Lions were 4-1 against the Bears, averaging 27.8 points and 367.4 yards of total offense per game.
Bears Players Dish On Matt Eberflus Experience Ahead of Chicago Return