Matt Eberflus hasn’t been fired yet. Many believe it’s inevitable at this point. Despite beating the Vikings on Monday night, nothing about that victory says the Chicago Bears head coach has figured things out. It took a last-second field goal to beat a team without its starting quarterback and best offensive player.
Despite another stellar first three quarters, his defense gave up the lead in the 4th quarter again. The status quo hasn’t changed. Until he puts together an actual win streak or beats a good team, his job cannot and should not be considered safe.
The obvious question is if the Bears were to dismiss him after the season, do they have a replacement in mind? Speculation often brings up guys like Jim Harbaugh, Ben Johnson, Kellen Moore, and Eric Bieniemy. However, a source contacted SM indicating those aren’t the names to watch. The one to keep an eye on is Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson.
Not only is he running the #3 scoring offense in the league, but he’s helped them jump out to a 10-1 record. That isn’t the only reason the Bears have interest. The source said it’s because of his relationship with assistant GM Ian Cunningham. The two worked together in Philadelphia and undoubtedly crossed paths while Johnson was an assistant in college and Cunningham was a scout.
Shifting from Matt Eberflus to Johnson would make sense.
His biggest calling card is a knack for elevating quarterbacks. He played the position at a high level at Utah. After failing to crack the pros, he switched to coaching in 2010. After four years learning under Utah legend Kyle Whittingham, he went to Mississippi State, where he directly oversaw the development of a young man named Dak Prescott. After a brief stint at Houston, he went to Florida, where he helped Kyle Trask throw the sixth-most TDs and post the second-best passer rating in program history.
Philadelphia came calling in 2021, making him their quarterbacks coach. He took over the development of Jalen Hurts and has since transformed him into an MVP contender. The man’s track record speaks for itself, and he’s still only 36 years old. If the Chicago Bears ever wanted somebody to rescue Justin Fields or oversee the development of Caleb Williams or Drake Maye, they could do a lot worse. It isn’t hard to see why they might be interested if Matt Eberflus is gone
I’d be fine with either Johnson, Ben (Lions) or Brian (Eagles). But I think I’m with Jioha on this one – Bieniemy is the choice if Harbaugh isn’t available (and maybe if he is, depending on how well Warren/Poles can coexist with JH).
He’s worked with a QB with a similar skill set to Fields (dude named Patrick something, I think) and got him playing at a crazy high level. Now he’s making fifth rounder Sam Howell look like a second rounder.
He should have been a head coach 3-4 years ago, but keeps getting passed over. Maybe there’s a… Read more »