Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus didn’t do the H.I.T.S. principle any favors with how his defense played last season. CBS’s new NFL head coach ranking skewered him for it.
The Detroit Lions gave up the most yards on defense last season. But other than yards, the Bears pretty much owned the league’s worst defense in important categories. Defensive coordinator Alan Williams’ unit gave up the most points (27.2 ppg) and had the league’s worst DVOA.
The Bears’ defensive roster was bad, especially on the defensive line, after losing Khalil Mack and trading away Robert Quinn. They also lost Roquan Smith at the trade deadline. But Eberflus picked free agents he was familiar with last season. The Bears also took defense with their first two picks in the 2022 NFL draft.
If an offensive coach had bottom-tier results like Eberflus had with the defense in their first year, questions would be asked about their competence. Cody Benjamin with CBS is asking that about Eberflus this season. Benjamin ranked Eberflus as the 32nd-best NFL coach:
“It’s not all Eberflus’ fault he debuted with a stripped-down roster, but if you’re gonna be a defensive HC in today’s NFL, you’d prefer not to shepherd one of the league’s worst units on that side of the ball. A big leap from QB Justin Field would help.”
Chicago Bears fans react to Matt Eberflus’ ranking
Benjamin gives a harsh ranking, but it’s hard to argue Eberflus should be ranked higher after last season. Eberflus will have to prove himself in his second season after noticeable improvements were made to the roster. Here are the best takes on Eberflus’ head coach ranking heading into the 2023 season.
Translation:
He’s the worst HC because the roster is bad 🤔 https://t.co/IqlBHWcW5k— Nate Myers (@Nmyers042) July 3, 2023
Last year @AdamHoge and @adamjahns said one of the main takeaways from mini camp was “coaching competence”. I’ll take them over some schmo at cbs sports
— jordjy (@jordjypordjy) July 3, 2023
Sounds right to me.
— Matt Nagy (@MattNagy_BOOM) July 3, 2023
He and the D have to be better this year.
You only get 1 rebuilding year in the NFL – it’s not a multi-year.
We gotta see improvement this year on both sides. Nobody is saying Super Bowl, but More Ws.
— Clark Kent (@gatesmi) July 3, 2023
Love how they willingly contradicted themselves lol https://t.co/0XW2S6fOLc
— beans (@cauley_97) July 3, 2023
His all time coaching record is .214, so I’m not surprised
— Jerry (@jerrydabearsfan) July 3, 2023
He’s just setting himself up for coach of the year in ‘23 with all the new bodies they brought in. No reason they can’t be a top 16-18 defense
— THEE Bears Bastard (@TheBearsBastard) July 3, 2023
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