Ranking the Chicago Bears head coaching candidates being interviewed

Chicago Bears Coaching Candidate: Matt Eberflus, DC – Indianapolis Colts

When it comes to defensive-minded head coaches, we know what to expect with Leslie Frazier, Todd Bowles and Dan Quinn. We don’t know what to expect if Matt Eberflus were to take over as a head coach. That unknown intrigues me a little. The problem is, even pairing him with the right offensive coordinator might only work for the first year or two. Then, that coordinator will leave for a head coaching gig as Kyle Shanahan did while with Atlanta. Then what is going to happen here?

Eberflus has helped work wonders in Indianapolis. One thing I always point to when we look at Leslie Frazier (and the same happened with Dan Quinn), is that the defensive side of the ball was not good enough while they were head coaches. Imagine a defensive Matt Nagy. While head coaching, those two struggled to see their defenses in the top 15. Many times they were ranked in the 20s. Will the same happen with Matt Eberflus?

Another reason that Eberflus is higher up in my rankings is that I would only assume he is hired because Ed Dodds is hired as the next general manager. Dodds is easily my top choice as the next Bears general manager. I have him and Omar Khan in their own tiers but more on them in a different article. The Colts defense has been ranked in the top 10 in defensive DVOA the last two years and was 11th in 2018. Only in 2019 did the team struggle in this area but had a few key injuries along the way. Their starting QB situation was shaky at best too.