Matt Eberflus had to be fired from the Colts before becoming the Bears coach

It’s been a few weeks Chicago Bears fired head coach Matt Eberflus, and now that the dust is starting to settle from his departure, more and more information is starting to come out about the decision to hire him nearly three years ago. Eberflus was hired by the Bears in January 2022, just a few days after general manager Ryan Poles was hired.

The decision to hire Eberflus was met with skepticism by many, given how he had a lower profile than other candidates and was a defensive coach. He left his previous position as Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator, but a new report suggests he wouldn’t have had that job for long had he not romped for the Bears.

According to the Chicago Tribune’s Dan Wiederer, Eberflus was set to be fired by the Colts if he didn’t get the Bears job. “Multiple league sources have told the Tribune that if the Bears had not hired Eberflus, the Colts were set to fire him and he may have had to seek a position coaching role elsewhere in the league,” Wiederer wrote in a recent column. .

The Colts were a top-10 defense in categories like points allowed and interceptions, but ended the season with a dud against the Jacksonville Jaguars that kept them from making the postseason. The defense wasn’t the only reason to blame, but they weren’t exactly an elite unit that season.

The report also raises questions about timing, since Eberflus was hired in late January, weeks after the regular season ended. It seems odd that a team would wait this long to make a change with one of their coordinators even though they were interviewing for vacant head coaches. Most teams move on from coaches within a week of the season ending.

Still, if what Wiederer reported is true, it’s another blow to the Poles for his decision to hire and stick with Eberflus for the better part of two seasons. While team president Kevin Warren indicated the Poles aren’t going anywhere, there’s enough smoke to wonder if that will still be the case at the end of the season. We have to see if the day-to-day manager gets the opportunity to choose a new coach. Hopefully it will be someone who isn’t it at risk of being fired from their current role.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Matt Eberflus had to be fired from the Colts before becoming the Bears HC