Overreaction Monday: 3 soon-to-be-fired head coach Packers can replace Joe Barry with
By Mark Powell
Packers Joe Barry replacements: Why not Matt Eberflus?
Matt Eberflus and the Chicago Bears are going in different directions. Another rebuild is coming in Chicago, as the Bears are likely to select Caleb Williams in the NFL Draft. Eberflus and GM Ryan Poles may very well be connected at the hip -- if one of them is fired, they both go.
Eberflus is a defensive-minded head coach and a good one at that, but he bit off a bit more than he could chew in the Windy City. Bears fans want him gone, and for good reason. He's been unable to find an offensive coordinator capable of developing Justin Fields or the receiving corps.
A move to rival Green Bay could do Eberflus some good, even if it would make him hated among the Bears fanbase. If anything, that gives the Packers extra incentive to make such a decision, not that they need one.
Eberflus took over a lackluster Colts defense in 2018 under head coach Frank Reich and turned them into a top-10 defense in the NFL. The unit he inherited was dead last. Eberflus also helped develop All-Pro linebacker Shaq Leonard, as well as linebacker Anthony Walker. The Indy pass defense was greatly improved as well thanks to Pierre Desir (who was on his fourth NFL team when Eberflus found him) and Kenny Moore, who was undrafted out of Valdosta State.
Eberflus knows how to develop talent on defense. If his head-coaching duties are taken away, he can fully direct his focus on the Packers defense.