Eberflus making mark with team
New head coach talks about his approach to the offseason program
PALM BEACH, FLA. — Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus will welcome players to Halas Hall next week as the offseason workout program for teams with new coaches begins.
He talked this week at the NFL’s annual meetings about his preparations for the program and his views on some of the players he’ll be greeting. Here are four things we learned.
Eberflus talked with safety Eddie Jackson about giving him ‘a fresh slate’: Over his first three seasons with the Bears, Jackson had 10 interceptions, 26 passes defended and five return touchdowns. He was named an All-Pro in 2018. But his ball production has dwindled over the last two years since signing a four-year, $58.4 million contract in 2020.
While penalties have wiped out some of his plays, he hasn’t had an interception since 2019 and had just two passes defended in 2021. He also had 76 tackles and four tackles for a loss in 14 games.
From watching film of Jackson, Eberflus recognized good instincts, his past takeaways and an ability to blitz.
But he wants Jackson to come in and show the new coaching staff what he can do.
“This is really for everybody — show us your skill set, show us what you can do, and then we’ll fit you into the pieces we need to fit you into,” Eberflus said. “Sure, you’ve got to run basic plays, but we’ve got to be able to see, for example at that position, can you cover tight ends? Can you cover backs out of the backfield? Are you efficient playing half or quarters or playing in the middle of the field?
He’s done all those things, but we want to see his skill set now.”
The Bears need a starter alongside Jackson and have signed two other safeties this offseason — returning veteran backup and special teamer DeAndre Houston-Carson and former Tennessee Titans fifth-round draft pick Dane Cruikshank.
Eberflus is excited about 3 new pieces for the Bears defense:
Eberflus figured his experience as a recruiter in the college ranks at Toledo and Missouri helped him when it came to making a pitch to Justin Jones.
After Jones signed a two-year, $12 million contract with the Bears, the former Los Angeles Chargers defensive lineman said a late-night phone call from Eberflus convinced him to sign with the Bears.
Eberflus, who was trying to add a three-technique defensive tackle after Larry Ogunjobi failed his physical, said his argument was simple.
“You look at what the man can do physically and how he fits into
your defense, and you just talk to him about that,” Eberflus said. “He was excited when we talked about that. … I was excited for him because it’s a good fit.”
Eberflus knows defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad will be a good fit because they spent four seasons together with the Indianapolis Colts.
Eberflus said Muhammad, who signed a two-year contract, can help provide leadership as the coaches install a new defense — and a new way of operating.
“He not only knows what we’re going to do but he knows how we do it,” Eberflus said. “So the way we practice, he’s going to be the example of how we do things. … That’s going to be a really important piece for our team to be able to see that. There are other guys who
are great workers who are already on the squad. And we’ll just challenge them and push them and let them know what the standards are. And then hold them to the standards.”
Eberflus called linebacker Nicholas Morrow, who signed a one-year deal after sitting out his fifth season with the Las Vegas Raiders with an ankle injury, “an exciting piece to add.”
“Worker. Prepares. Very smart,” Eberflus said. “You can see the athleticism on tape. His ability to cover in space. He can cover a lot of ground, cover tight ends, cover backs.”
Eberflus has another abbreviation for a principle — this one for the type of play expected on the offensive and defensive lines: Eberflus’
HITS principle — for hustle, intensity, takeaways and smart situational play — already has been well established in his interviews.
When asked about Ryan Poles’ assertion that new Bears center Lucas Patrick is “a prick” in a good way, Eberflus also revealed he has “the M&M principle.” And Patrick’s billing seems to fit.
“It’s not another acronym, but I’m thinking about making T-shirts,” Eberflus said. “It’s about having great motor and about being mean, and that’s what you need at your lines. … Man, you’ve got to finish, and when you finish the right way at the line level and you play with that demeanor, that meanness, that’s the kind of guy we want to acquire. That’s what we’re going to expect out of our guys up front.”
Eberflus has reached out to 20-30 Bears alumni over the last couple of months: Eberflus said he has texted and called former Bears players to get their takes on the organization and to invite them to practices.
He said the players were receptive to the conversations and the invitations to be a part of team activities, and Eberflus enjoyed speaking with them too.
“Why that’s important is, you know, ‘Chicago Bears,’ the tradition, iconic franchise,” Eberflus said.
“To be able to visit with those guys is pretty cool. And to get their take on things in terms of the tradition, their time here and really bring those guys back into the fold,” he said.