The Bears want to hear more from Matt Eberflus.
After interviewing the Colts’ defensive coordinator for their head coaching vacancy on Monday, the Bears want to schedule another with him at some point next week, per NFL Network.
Exactly what that means for the Bears’ dual head coach and general manager searches is unclear. The Bears are still conducting their first rounds of interviews with GM candidates. Chairman George McCaskey would prefer to hire a GM before a coach, meaning Eberflus’ second interview would likely have to come after the team hires a new GM.
Time might be of the essence, though. The Bears aren’t the only team with interest in Eberflus; He’s due for a second round of interviews with the Jaguars.
Eberflus has been the Colts’ defensive coordinator for four years. He was actually hired to work for Josh McDaniels before the Patriots offensive coordinator backed out of the Colts head coaching job in 2018. The Colts kept Eberflus anyway. He inherited a team that finished 30th in yards allowed and points allowed in 2017. In three of the past four years, the Colts have been ranked in the top 10 in fewest points allowed.
Eberflus already knows a few Bears GM candidates: Colts assistant general manager Ed Dodds, who interviewed Monday, and Colts college scouting director Morocco Brown, who’s supposed to meet with the team later this week. Dodds, though, told the Bears he was withdrawing from their search on Wednesday, per NFL Network. He’s a candidate for the Raiders’ vacancy.