It had been over a month since the media last saw Matt Eberflus in person. The Chicago Bears head coach finally surfaced at Halas Hall on Thursday. He arrived sporting a new look with a beard and trimmed haircut. In an off-season of what feels like fresh starts, Eberflus decided to join the fun. Yet the real topic was him introducing the retooled coaching staff, headlined by new coordinators Shane Waldron and Eric Washington. Before letting them take the floor, the head coach had the chance to answer some questions about how the searches went.
According to him, the Bears interviewed 14 total candidates on both sides of the ball. Every meeting was in person, which is why it took a bit longer than normal. However, he did mention something interesting.
Remember, Waldron was the first candidate they met with. The fact he was the only one they met twice says one of two things. Either he was their target from the jump, or he made such a strong impression that the second interview was merely a formality to hash out the remaining details. He was then asked what priorities he and GM Ryan Poles had when conducting their search.
It strongly indicates that he learned some lessons from what went wrong with Luke Getsy. One of his biggest issues was not being able to make in-game adjustments, which is why the offense always seemed to go cold as games went on. Waldron’s offense ranked 13th and 16th in second-half scoring over the past two seasons. While not elite, that is a considerable improvement from Getsy’s 27th and 22nd. Waldron is also known for being a bit of a mad scientist when it comes to utilizing different formations and play designs.
One last bit of business Matt Eberflus conducted was an in-house promotion.
This isn’t a huge surprise. Morgan was one of the few holdovers on the offensive coaching staff after Getsy was fired. It was a clear signal from the Bears that they were happy with the work he’d done. He’d done a great job developing youngsters like Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright while helping guide a top-3 rushing attack. Giving him greater control of that responsibility makes sense. Together with new passing game coordinator Thomas Brown, they will help Waldron take this offense to a new level.
