The Detroit Lions have been one of the best teams in football this season, as Dan Campbell’s unit is 11-1 and atop the NFC North through 12 games. Detroit has won 10 consecutive games after a 1-1 start and are the favorites to capture the No.1 seed in the NFC.
The Lions escaped with a narrow victory over the Chicago Bears on Thursday in Week 13, but Detroit’s 23-20 isn’t the main storyline from the Thanksgiving contest. Recently fired Bears head coach Matt Eberflus completely botched a chance to tie the game and force overtime, as Eberflus failed to call a timeout in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter and squandered an opportunity to kick a field goal, as rookie quarterback Caleb Williams threw an incompletion to end the game.
It’s been a frustrating season for Chicago, as the team came into the 2024 campaign with a ton of buzz but are 4-8 on the year and fired Eberflus on Friday. The former Toledo linebacker coached the Bears for three seasons, posting a 14-32 record with just three road wins and two division wins. Chicago has lost their last six games after starting 4-2 and has shown an inability to win one-score game.
Though Eberflus was an incompetent head coach for the Bears, the Ohio native flourished as a defensive coordinator in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts. Eberflus served as the team’s defensive coordinator for four seasons (2018-2021) and established himself as one of the top head coaching candidates in the 2022 head coaching cycle after leading the Colts to three top-10 scoring defenses.
The Lions employ arguably the best defensive coordinator in the NFL, Aaron Glenn, but the young defensive mastermind will likely land a head coaching gig this offseason. If Detroit loses Glenn in the offseason, Bleacher Report’s Adam Wells believes the Lions could be a landing spot for Eberflus as a defensive coordinator.
There’s a strong possibility that the Detroit Lions will have to replace both of their coordinators after this season. Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has been one of the most sought-after head-coaching candidates in each of the past two years, but he has decided to remain with the Lions.
Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn’s ascent to being a top-tier head-coaching candidate took more time than Johnson’s, but it’s been apparent for the past year that players think very highly of him.
Replacing Glenn with Eberflus would be a notable shift in Detroit’s defensive scheme. Glenn’s preferred coverage is man because he wants to get teams in third-and-long to let the pass-rush go to work.
Eberflus struggled with the Bears and failed to build a winning culture in Chicago, but the long-time defensive coach would be an adequate replacement for Glenn if the Texas native lands a head coaching job after the 2024 season. Eberflus has had success as a defensive coordinator in the past and will be one of the top assistant coaches on the market this offseason.
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