FanPost

Bears Nail New Regime Hirings With Poles And Eberflus

After what felt like an eternity, the Chicago Bears have finally found what they hope to be their GM and head coach of the future in former Kansas City Chiefs Executive Director of Player Personnel Ryan Poles and former Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, respectively. For brevity’s sake, both hires — in my humble opinion — are absolutely tremendous.

First off, Poles. Prior to his 13-year run in Kansas City’s front office, Poles was an offensive lineman at Boston College and even earned a brief stint with the Bears immediately following his tenure as an Eagle. Therefore, if nothing else, I can guarantee you that Poles will build a perennially-dominant offensive line — something that the Bears struggled to do during the Ryan Pace era. But perhaps even more exciting is his ability to find hidden talent. Of his 13 years in Kansas City, 9 were spent climbing the ranks within the scouting department, meaning his performing terrifically must have had something to do with the selections of Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, and — that’s right — Patrick Mahomes, all three of whom far exceeded expectations in relation to their draft position.

As for Eberflus, he has bounced around over the past 30 years, primarily serving a variety of roles on the defensive side of the ball, the most recent of which being the defensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts. Unbeknownst to many, Eberflus transformed a Colts defense that was ranked 30th in the NFL in 2017 to a top-10 defense the following season — and he did so with few marquee players. As far as his character, he is no-nonsense. Per various league sources, Eberflus’ enforcer-like coaching style propels his teams to be detail-oriented and disciplined. Remember the lack of discipline this team displayed during Matt Nagy’s reign? All of that — from the foolish penalties to the lack of attention to details to the missed tackles — will be gone with Eberflus in town. Additionally, he employs a 4–3 defense, meaning that star pass rushers Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn can go back to traditional 5-technique defensive ends, where they will solely have pass-rushing responsibilities.

But throughout the franchise’s history, defense has seldom been the concern; it’s been the offense that has held this team back. With a defensive-minded head coach, that is still a valid concern, especially when you consider that Justin Fields has the potential to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has never had. The good news is that Eberflus appears hell-bent on hiring somebody from the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree. Shanahan’s scheme is centered around wide zone runs with derived passing concepts. That is the perfect offense for a Bears team that — despite their many struggles — has shown to be lethal when running the ball from under center.

It’s not the sexiest hire, but how many of the great coaches have been? Over time, this is a regime that — I believe — will get it done. Who knows? With the Vikings handicapped by the Kirk Cousins contract, the Packers having their feet held over the flames by Aaron Rodgers, and the Lions, well, being the Lions, the North may finally belong to Chicago as soon as next year. And this time, it may be for good.

This Fanpost was written by a Windy City Gridiron member and does not necessarily reflect the ideas or opinions of its staff or community.