5 coaches responsible for Matt Eberflus rise to Chicago Bears head coach

4. Rob Ryan

The son of Buddy Ryan was the man who brought Matt Eberflus to the NFL for the very first time. It is funny how the NFL is a small little group. When Ryan went from the Raiders in 2008 to the Browns in 2009, he called the Missouri defensive coordinator to be his linebackers coach.

Eberflus took the job and slowly became a hot commodity in the NFL. Ryan took a job with the Dallas Cowboys in 2010, and he pounded the table to bring Eberflus with him.

Rob Ryan once called Eberflus the Demarcus Ware of his defensive staff, which is some heavy praise. Ware was on the Cowboys at the time and liked the comparison.

When Ryan went to New Orleans, he thought it was best for Eberflus to stay in Dallas, and it turned out to be a great decision for him. The Ryan family has a long history of defensive football, so to combine the offensive Pinkel with the Ryan family is a great introduction into the NFL.

Matt Eberflus obviously worked hard for himself, but a lot of the attention he found in the NFL started because of Rob Ryan. Ryan gave him his first shot, took him to Dallas where the lights were bright, and then called him a star in front of the media.