Former Bears coach Matt Eberflus emerges as candidate for Bengals defensive coordinator
Former Bears coach Matt Eberflus could be back in the NFL quickly, and ESPN reported he is a candidate for the Bengals as they search for a defensive coordinator.
The Bears fired Eberflus, 54, in November after he badly mismanaged the end of the game in their loss to the Lions. He went 14-32 in three seasons coaching the Bears, and they improved from 32nd in scoring defense in 2022 to 20th in '23 to 13th this season.
The Bengals fired defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo after finishing 25th in scoring defense at 25.5 points allowed per game.
Eberflus' name hasn't come up with any other jobs, and the Bears still must pay him for the final two years of his contract.
Before the Bears hired him in 2022, Eberflus was the Colts' defensive coordinator from 2018 through '21. His defenses ranked, chronologically, 10th, 18th, 10th and ninth.
He spent several seasons as a linebackers coach for the Cowboys and Browns before that and had a long career in college with his alma mater Toledo (1992 through 2000) and Missouri (2001 through '08).