3 reasons Matt Eberflus was drawn to Eric Washington as Chicago Bears DC

The Chicago Bears hired Eric Washington to be their defensive coordinator. The move makes plenty of sense, especially if you are Matt Eberflus. Why does this hire signal that Eberflus had a big say in who was going to be his defensive coordinator, and why was this a great fit with him?

3. Eric Washington has a similar defensive background to Matt Eberflus 

Eric Washington came up coaching the defensive line, which is great because that was the Bears' biggest weakness last season. He was coaching the line all the way back in 2009 with the Chicago Bears as an assistant defensive line coach. There, he coached under Rod Marinelli. 

Marinelli was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2010, and Eric Washington was promoted to defensive line coach, taking the job that Marinelli had. Needless to say, Washington and Marinelli see the game in a similar manner. 

In 2013, Marinelli moved to Dallas to be the defensive line coach. He stayed there until 2019 and totally revamped that group. Matt Eberflus was the Cowboys linebackers coach from 2011 through 2017. He worked with Marinelli and knows how he coaches the defensive line. 

Eberflus put a lot into the linebackers and has them down. He needs a defensive line coach, and someone like Washington coaches them very similarly. It makes sense why he would feel comfortable with him coordinating the defense.