Free Talk: Bears HC Matt Eberflus

[UOK]

[The Marshall Plan]

I would be in a state of bliss if Marinelli came back in some capacity.

[G08]

Works for me. Roquan Smith is about to explode!

[SweatyAlpaca]

I don't think this is a terrible hire. I was all in on Harbaugh, but i think he priced himself out of it from what the reports were . My only worry is hiring a defensive coach is if we get it right with the OC we may be looking for another OC soon

[Hiphopopotamos]

I'm ok with this. I wanted Flores though. Badly.

I'd love to see Caldwell as the OC.

Seeing the name Kevin Patullo bandied about...

Thats gross. I can't even believe he'd be an option. We're going to entrust the development of our franchise QB to a guy who has 3 years experience as a position coach - at WR?

[wab]

Now DBB said in a follow up tweet Caldwell was actually still George's #1. But of course his GM pick is likely to pick a guy he's very comfortable with. That's not necessarily bad though. You want alignment of vision.

From what I can gather, it seems like initially George wanted Frazier, but when everyone had a good lol about it, he moved on to Caldwell, which was wholly supported by Polian.

Eberflus, by all accounts was a Poles candidate, or at least one that he was very comfortable with given that they have a relationship through the LB coach in KC.

[southdakbearfan]

Well, Matt and Ryan ride again.

[TheWorldBreaker]

Let's all also just admit that this is George's HC hire. Here's why:

This is just like an example I've used before to show how this sort of thing works. This is 0% political, it's just the easiest way to explain what's happening IMO.

Rupert Murdoch does not tell Sean Hannity or Tucker Carlson what to say on their shows - he maintains separation from the editorial content and can always say, factually correct, that he doesn't intervene to drive narrative. Because he doesn't. So how is it that every Fox opinion host just happens to say all the stuff that Rupert Murdoch wants said on a nightly basis? Well, Murdoch makes sure that he hires people with the same core beliefs that he has, and in that way he knows how they will respond to various unforeseen moments without ever having to explicitly tell them.

I believe that's what happened here. I believe that George built the list of finalists, and as he talked with various GM candidates he ensured that the one he hired was comfortable picking from that list. He didn't tell him this, but a smart interviewee would pick up on this and tell him what he wanted to hear. That doesn't mean Poles had Eberflus forced on him, he may very well have loved Eberflus genuinely, but there is no missing that elephant in the room that George created IMO.

So George did all of this. Think about it, does anyone really believe that Poles did a complete and exhaustive HC search in less than 48 hours? Hell no. He was hired because he was OK with the list of finalists, and he took one day to run through that list of 3 and make his decision. This is George's hire for the most part, other than Poles could have selected Quinn or Caldwell instead. I'm really hoping Caldwell gets the OC gig.

Poles had a list of candidates he wanted that he provided to the Bears he would interview. It’s pretty clear that the panel was interviewing coaches GM candidates brought up. So he didn’t start this on Tuesday.

Also, Poles’ boss or colleague in KC is the brother of the Colts LB coach.

Additionally, Poles and Eberflus have the same agent and so knew each other through that.

It’s plausible that he chose Eberflus because he was the most comfortable with him because of his connections.

[dave99]

Let's all also just admit that this is George's HC hire. Here's why:

This is just like an example I've used before to show how this sort of thing works. This is 0% political, it's just the easiest way to explain what's happening IMO.

Rupert Murdoch does not tell Sean Hannity or Tucker Carlson what to say on their shows - he maintains separation from the editorial content and can always say, factually correct, that he doesn't intervene to drive narrative. Because he doesn't. So how is it that every Fox opinion host just happens to say all the stuff that Rupert Murdoch wants said on a nightly basis? Well, Murdoch makes sure that he hires people with the same core beliefs that he has, and in that way he knows how they will respond to various unforeseen moments without ever having to explicitly tell them.

I believe that's what happened here. I believe that George built the list of finalists, and as he talked with various GM candidates he ensured that the one he hired was comfortable picking from that list. He didn't tell him this, but a smart interviewee would pick up on this and tell him what he wanted to hear. That doesn't mean Poles had Eberflus forced on him, he may very well have loved Eberflus genuinely, but there is no missing that elephant in the room that George created IMO.

So George did all of this. Think about it, does anyone really believe that Poles did a complete and exhaustive HC search in less than 48 hours? Hell no. He was hired because he was OK with the list of finalists, and he took one day to run through that list of 3 and make his decision. This is George's hire for the most part, other than Poles could have selected Quinn or Caldwell instead. I'm really hoping Caldwell gets the OC gig.

I don't know that I would go this far but I do agree that he put his thumb on the scale. Which was stupid, but very George like.

[UOK]

Seeing the name Kevin Patullo bandied about...

Thats gross. I can't even believe he'd be an option. We're going to entrust the development of our franchise QB to a guy who has 3 years experience as a position coach - at WR?

Let's all stop looking for reasons to be depressed and try to keep an open mind, if possible. There's a lot of new names that we're going to have to get familiar with before/during the upcoming season, and I'm sure among those new names there will be sprinkled some veteran hires. Known commodities are not always some great thing; retreads don't typically have any potential.

[The Marshall Plan]

Well, Matt and Ryan ride again.

You know George is going to send like 50 emails to the old addresses for Pace and Nagy before he figures it out.

[Hiphopopotamos]

I think Brady is a one-hit wonder who isn't qualified to lead an NFL offense - but I'd still take him over Patullo.

[UOK]

Let's all also just admit that this is George's HC hire. Here's why:

This is just like an example I've used before to show how this sort of thing works. This is 0% political, it's just the easiest way to explain what's happening IMO.

Rupert Murdoch does not tell Sean Hannity or Tucker Carlson what to say on their shows - he maintains separation from the editorial content and can always say, factually correct, that he doesn't intervene to drive narrative. Because he doesn't. So how is it that every Fox opinion host just happens to say all the stuff that Rupert Murdoch wants said on a nightly basis? Well, Murdoch makes sure that he hires people with the same core beliefs that he has, and in that way he knows how they will respond to various unforeseen moments without ever having to explicitly tell them.

I believe that's what happened here. I believe that George built the list of finalists, and as he talked with various GM candidates he ensured that the one he hired was comfortable picking from that list. He didn't tell him this, but a smart interviewee would pick up on this and tell him what he wanted to hear. That doesn't mean Poles had Eberflus forced on him, he may very well have loved Eberflus genuinely, but there is no missing that elephant in the room that George created IMO.

So George did all of this. Think about it, does anyone really believe that Poles did a complete and exhaustive HC search in less than 48 hours? Hell no. He was hired because he was OK with the list of finalists, and he took one day to run through that list of 3 and make his decision. This is George's hire for the most part, other than Poles could have selected Quinn or Caldwell instead. I'm really hoping Caldwell gets the OC gig.

I don't know that I would go this far but I do agree that he put his thumb on the scale. Which was stupid, but very George like.

Stop. For the love of god, Stop.

Don't follow an imaginary narrative that has in no way been proven in this instance. There are many reasons to distrust and dislike Bears ownership, but choosing to believe some goofy-ass narrative that is backed up by nothing substantial is most unwise.

[wab]

Well, Matt and Ryan ride again.

The Bears went from Matt and Ryan...to Matt, and Ryan, who's friends with Matt Ryan.

[VA_Mountain_Bear]

Good God Dammit this HC hire pisses me off and discourages me. Colts D was not anything amazing, they played well at times, but disappeared at times too; they got whipped by the Jags when their playoff hopes were on the line. We could have just hired Desai and been the same. This HC isn't the worst, but I felt there were many much better candidates Dabol, Hackett, Flores, Leftwhich, and Harbaugh. If the current rumoring is correct that Eberlus is targeting Kevein Patullo (passing game coordinator of the Eagles) I will scream. Right now I feel like my enthusiasm has been drained away. I will hope for the best, I want bad to be proved wrong, but I am expecting 2-3 years of medicore, wasting Fields rookie contract, and doing this all over again . Screw McCaskey and Philips!

[VA_Mountain_Bear]

Well, Matt and Ryan ride again.

The Bears went from Matt and Ryan...to Matt, and Ryan, who's friends with Matt Ryan.

Only thing to make me laugh at this situation.

[UOK]

[dplank]

There's a lot I like about Eberflus, so don't mistake my point as being over the top disappointed in the hire. But to think that it just so happens that George's final list just happened to include Poles preferred candidate and that the two thought streams were completely independent of one another is pretty naive. I'm not saying Poles was forced to hire him. I am saying George chose Poles in part because he was good with his candidate list and he knew he wasn't going to go and hire a Harbaugh or a Flores. And by operating in that manner, George essentially chose the HC because he hired a guy who was good with his final list of 3 candidates. This is not conspiracy, this is standard operating procedure.

A lot of people accepted that Ryan Pace didn't really hire Fox on his own and was sort of an arranged marriage, this appears to be very similar.

[UOK]

There's a lot I like about Eberflus, so don't mistake my point as being over the top disappointed in the hire. But to think that it just so happens that George's final list just happened to include Poles preferred candidate and that the two thought streams were completely independent of one another is pretty naive. I'm not saying Poles was forced to hire him. I am saying George chose Poles in part because he was good with his candidate list and he knew he wasn't going to go and hire a Harbaugh or a Flores. And by operating in that manner, George essentially chose the HC because he hired a guy who was good with his final list of 3 candidates. This is not conspiracy, this is standard operating procedure.

A lot of people accepted that Ryan Pace didn't really hire Fox on his own and was sort of an arranged marriage, this appears to be very similar.

I'll paste it again.



DBB's plugged in, and I believe him.

[Mikefive]

I managed to get myself excited about both Quinn and Caldwell, struggling to get excited about Eberflus. I'll get there I suppose, he absolutely must nail the OC hire or this will be a disaster.

Same here, although I don't think any of the candidates were all that exciting.

[wab]

Eberflus was a candidate for multiple teams though. It's not like he was just pulled out of thin air.

If the Bears would've hired Frazier or Caldwell, I could see the "arranged marriage" angle.

[UOK]

[dplank]

UOK, was DBB wrong when he said the final list was 3 then? Eberflus, Caldwell, and Quinn? How would Eberflus be on that list if the only people in the room at that stage wanted either Caldwell or Quinn? Something doesn't line up. Was he wrong there or is he wrong here, both can't be correct.

[UOK]

UOK, was DBB wrong when he said the final list was 3 then? Eberflus, Caldwell, and Quinn? How would Eberflus be on that list if the only people in the room at that stage wanted either Caldwell or Quinn? Something doesn't line up. Was he wrong there or is he wrong here, both can't be correct.

[Bears Whiskey Nut]

Let's all also just admit that this is George's HC hire. Here's why:

This is just like an example I've used before to show how this sort of thing works. This is 0% political, it's just the easiest way to explain what's happening IMO.

Rupert Murdoch does not tell Sean Hannity or Tucker Carlson what to say on their shows - he maintains separation from the editorial content and can always say, factually correct, that he doesn't intervene to drive narrative. Because he doesn't. So how is it that every Fox opinion host just happens to say all the stuff that Rupert Murdoch wants said on a nightly basis? Well, Murdoch makes sure that he hires people with the same core beliefs that he has, and in that way he knows how they will respond to various unforeseen moments without ever having to explicitly tell them.

I believe that's what happened here. I believe that George built the list of finalists, and as he talked with various GM candidates he ensured that the one he hired was comfortable picking from that list. He didn't tell him this, but a smart interviewee would pick up on this and tell him what he wanted to hear. That doesn't mean Poles had Eberflus forced on him, he may very well have loved Eberflus genuinely, but there is no missing that elephant in the room that George created IMO.

So George did all of this. Think about it, does anyone really believe that Poles did a complete and exhaustive HC search in less than 48 hours? Hell no. He was hired because he was OK with the list of finalists, and he took one day to run through that list of 3 and make his decision. This is George's hire for the most part, other than Poles could have selected Quinn or Caldwell instead. I'm really hoping Caldwell gets the OC gig.

There is a distinct friendship/relationship between Poles and Eberflus that has been going on for the last few years. They had a tight relationship long before Nagy and Pace were even close to being fired. All potential GM's have their "guy" that they would hire if they get a gig. This is the same thing. I don't think it had anything to do with George.

I believe the connection is the Borganzi brothers. Poles worked for Mike Borganzi in KC, Dave Borganzi is Eberflus' DC in Indy.

[wab]

UOK, was DBB wrong when he said the final list was 3 then? Eberflus, Caldwell, and Quinn? How would Eberflus be on that list if the only people in the room at that stage wanted either Caldwell or Quinn? Something doesn't line up. Was he wrong there or is he wrong here, both can't be correct.

Because Poles wanted him?

[wab]

Interesting...

[o-pus #40 in B major]

The following article from Brad Biggs shared some nice insights about Flus... NWI Times did not have a pay wall btw...

What Chicago Bears see in coaching candidate Matt Eberflus | BRAD BIGGS Chicago Tribune 5 hrs ago

https://www.nwitimes.com/sports/footbal ... 46dc1.html

Great read. Thanks, bearsoldier!

[TheWorldBreaker]

Good God Dammit this HC hire pisses me off and discourages me. Colts D was not anything amazing, they played well at times, but disappeared at times too; they got whipped by the Jags when their playoff hopes were on the line. We could have just hired Desai and been the same. This HC isn't the worst, but I felt there were many much better candidates Dabol, Hackett, Flores, Leftwhich, and Harbaugh. If the current rumoring is correct that Eberlus is targeting Kevein Patullo (passing game coordinator of the Eagles) I will scream. Right now I feel like my enthusiasm has been drained away. I will hope for the best, I want bad to be proved wrong, but I am expecting 2-3 years of medicore, wasting Fields rookie contract, and doing this all over again . Screw McCaskey and Philips!

Carson Wentz being a potato cost them the game more than the defense. The Colts defense was better under him than it was before him and players got better under his watch. That’s not nothing.

We don’t know him and he hasn’t hired any staff, so far, so take a deep breath and at least wait until he makes a hire before jumping off the ledge.

[dave99]

From the Athletic several days (and eons ago), before the Poole hiring:

Why is Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus the first coach to (reportedly) get a second interview?

Jahns: It might have to do with the past. Eberflus, 51, not only works for Colts GM Chris Ballard, a former Bears scout and executive, but has ties to Rod Marinelli. He and Marinelli worked together on the Dallas defensive coaching staff from 2013 to 2017. In their final two years together, Eberflus was the Cowboys’ passing game coordinator/linebacker, while Marinelli was their defensive coordinator. On the “Hoge & Jahns” podcast, Stephen Holder, who covers the Colts for The Athletic, described Eberflus as a protege of Marinelli’s. Holder also said that Eberfus grades his defense’s hustle — or its “loafs.” The same thing happened under Marinelli and Lovie Smith with the Bears. Eberflus also has full autonomy to run the Colts defense. Holder described Eberflus as capable of adjusting his scheme. “He doesn’t like to get put in a box,” he said. Gary Pinkel, the former Toledo and Missouri head coach, is another one of his mentors.

Fishbain: A first-time head coach with a defensive background probably would have made Eberflus a long shot, but he clearly impressed in his interview. McCaskey is focused on being flexible and not going only for one type of coach, and we heard McCaskey and Phillips mention “leadership” multiple times. If Eberflus got a second interview, he must have shown something that gave them confidence he could step into Halas Hall and handle the job well. One thing to note about Eberlufs’ defense — it was second in the NFL in takeaways this season with 33. The Bears had 16. Indianapolis was tied for fifth in 2020 with 25 takeaways. The Bears had 18. Creating turnovers has been a major issue for this team since Smith was here, aside from the 2018 season.