Matt Eberflus came to Chicago promising discipline, defense and a clear identity.
H.I.T.S. principle, anyone? What the former Bears head coach delivered instead was a rigidness and a failure to adapt to the strengths of his players. He may have even stunted their growth.
After getting fired mid-season in 2024 — the first time the team has terminated a head coach during the regular season in NFL history — Flus was hired as defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys.
Based on the early results, it’s not going so well. One example involves interior defensive lineman Mazi Smith.
Matt Eberflus Draws Criticism for ‘Hamfisting’ His Players Into His Defense
GettyFormer Bears head coach Matt Eberflus has already run into criticism as Dallas Cowboys DC.
As the Cowboys began training camp, some noted Smith had dropped weight. The reason? To make it easier to rush the passer, which hasn’t been something the DT has excelled at over his first two years.
“Brian Schottenheimer said Mazi Smith has dropped weight as he enters Year 3 and moves into his third system in three years. Matt Eberflus wants DL to get up the field,” ESPN’s Todd Archer reported on X.
PFF’s John Owning’s response to that should resonate with many Bears fans.
“Hamfisting a player into his scheme rather than adjusting his scheme to fit the players — not ideal from Eberflus imo,” Owning wrote on X on July 22.
“I’m excited about Mazi,” Eberflus said back in February. “I liked him coming out [of Michigan]. He’s a real explosive athlete, with a big body type that can move really well. Excited about bringing his game to the next level, and he could certainly do that.”
It’s fair to point out that during his time in Chicago, there wasn’t a single defensive player — other than maybe Kyler Gordon — who played the best football of their respective careers under Flus.
Eberflus Had a 14-32 Record as Bears HC
Eberflus’s tenure with the Bears left him with a reputation for an aversion to change and an inability to mold his defensive scheme to suit the players he had. Upon taking over in January 2022, Eberflus implemented a significant shift from the team’s traditional 3‑4 front to a 4‑3 base defense.
While conceptually sound for teams with quick edge rushers and versatile linebackers, it clashed with the Bears’ personnel at the time. Throughout the 2022 season, as losses piled up to a franchise‑worst 3–14 record, questions emerged about whether being a head coach was too much for Eberflus. Those questions only amplified the two years following that.
He rarely tweaked alignments or adjusted play calls, and examples of this incompetence also became increasingly obvious. In the team’s infamous Thanksgiving 2024 loss to the Detroit Lions, the Bears allowed a 16-point comeback, also letting the clock drain without calling a timeout before their last-minute field goal attempt.
Arguably worse, Eberflus defended his decision to not call a timeout post-game, but it only reinforced the narrative that he was unwilling to make reactive decisions when it mattered most.
It’s fair to say Eberflus is a much better defensive coordinator than he was a head coach. Still, his inability to get the most out of his players may always follow him.
Matt Eberflus Already Getting Criticized for Decisions as Cowboys DC: ‘Not Ideal’