The Bears know what’s broken — and what isn’t.
While he’ll spend the next few weeks trying to rebuild his offensive staff, coach Matt Eberflus won’t mess much with a defense that finished the season as one of the best in the league.
In their final eight games, the Bears allowed the fewest points and lowest passer rating in the NFL. They led the league with 16 interceptions and were second in total takeaways during that same span. Only four teams gave up fewer yards.
“Those are all winning ways,” Eberflus said Wednesday. “I talked to the players about that … That’s proof in progress that we’ve done a good job.”
That’s why the Bears won’t make major changes to their defense when they hire a new coordinator. They’ll sitll run Eberflus’ Cover 2 scheme, with his coaching points, buzzwords — and, probably, play calls. If Eberflus hires from the outside, he figures to add someone familiar with his H.I.T.S. principle.
Eberflus repeated his desire to call plays again next season but said he’d be open-minded when he interviews coordinator candidates in the coming weeks. He’s already committed to stability, though. The Bears plan on bringing back every position coach on defense and could even promote one of them to coordinator. That makes sense, as each group produced dominant performances.
Defensive end Montez Sweat — for whom the Bears traded Oct. 31 — and cornerback Jaylon Johnson made the Pro Bowl, while linebacker T.J. Edwards finished seventh in the NFL in tackles. Pro Football Focus considers Johnson the NFL’s best cornerback.
Production from such young players makes the coordinator job an attractive one, Eberflus argued. The job won’t come with independence, though.
“We’re always aware of other people’s rosters and where the vision from the team is going,” he said. “And ours is definitely in a positive way that coaches want to come here and coach.”
Most, if not all, of them are coming back. Out of their 12 regulars — the starting lineup plus the slot cornerback — the Bears will return all but perhaps three starters.
They’ll need to replace edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue, whose one-year contract is expiring, and could move on from safety Eddie Jackson, who has an $18.1 million cap hit next season in the final year of his deal. The Bears can cut Jackson and pay $5.6 million in dead cap charges.
If they bring Jackson back — probably at a reduced price — it will be in part to continue his mentorship of fellow safety Jaquan Brisker.
“When Eddie was in, you could tell Brisker felt really, really comfortable,” general manager Ryan Poles said. “That whole group, he really impacts the communication. You can really see that.”
Defensive tackle Justin Jones will be a free agent and wants to return. He’d like to recruit help, too; Eberflus says you can never have too many pass rushers.
“If they bring all the guys back and can keep the team together, they can be everything … ” Jones said last week. “We got a lot of good foundational pieces here.”
