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Let’s try this again. Dan Quinn was not hired by the Chicago Bears like I believed he would be. It was the other 51 year old Defensive Coordinator, Matt Eberflus. Here’s your background check. Eberflus has been the Defensive Coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts since 2018. Before that he was Linebackers Coach of the Dallas Cowboys from 2011 to 2017. In his time he worked with the development of Darius Leonard, Leighton Vander Esch, Jaylon Smith. With Chicago’s most dominant defensive player being the young Roquan Smith, Bears fans should be fired up. Roquan Smith has been robbed of back to back seasons of a Pro Bowl/All Pro spot. With Eberflus, Roquan could get the recognition he finally deserves. Matt Eberflus is bringing something else to Chicago we haven’t seen since 2014. The 4-3 defense. Khalil Mack is now a defensive end. Roquan will play the role of Brian Urlacher did all those years in the 4-3. His defense has been known to create turnovers. Ranking 2nd in takeaways in 2021, 5th in 2020, 10th in 2019, and 10th in 2018. Four straight seasons finishing in the top ten for takeaways. Bears fans have been craving turnovers since 2018. While many like myself begged for an offensive mind in Chicago to establish the offense around Justin Fields, this isn’t the end of the world. Look around the league for a second. Justin Herbert has Brandon Staley, Josh Allen has Sean McDermott, and Lamar Jackson has John Harbaugh. Eberflus needs to find a great play caller to lead the progression of Justin Fields. Let’s take a look into who that could be..
Kevin Patullo
Kevin Patullo, 40, is the current passing team coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles. He came over with Nick Sirianni from Indianapolis last offseason. That’s where the connection to Eberflus comes in. So let’s dive into what he can bring to the table here in Chicago. Based on how the Eagles offense was run this last season there’s a lot of positives and negatives you could pull from it. Jalen Hurts had 140 rushing attempts which was the most in the NFL this season. Justin Fields finished with 72. I’d also be willing to bet that at least 95% of them were not designed for him to take off. The Eagles did very well at drawing up designed quarterback runs. Bringing that extra level to their offense which Chicago needs. They’re the #1 rushing offense in the entire NFL. Yeah Jalen Hurts was a major part of that success in the run game but it’s still a great way to control the game. If Eberflus can get the defense to lock up and the Bears can control the clock with the run game these two could win ball games in Chicago. The best thing about Patullo is he comes from the Frank Reich tree, and if he can bring over anyone from his time in Indianapolis I would be intrigued. My biggest fear is his lack of play calling considering he would have absolutely full control over Chicago’s offense. I’d personally just stay away. Try and nab an experienced OC around the league.
Scott Linehan
Scott Linehan is someone who Eberflus worked with for many seasons while in Dallas. Linehan has tremendous experience in the NFL. Success on the other hand? Not so much. He was great in the early 2000’s with the Minnesota Vikings having one of the best offenses in the league for three straight seasons. Since then he’s been pretty up and down. He was the play caller in Detroit for the glory days of Stafford and Megatron putting up insane numbers. He also was a big part of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliots success. He was the offensive coordinator in Dallas under Jason Garrett from 2014 to 2018. Since then he’s joined the college game becoming an offensive assistant for LSU and Missouri. It’s been 3 years since being in the NFL and his consistency in Dallas behind Jason Garrett is not too enticing as a fan. He only declined with Prescott and Elliot. Considering the Bears have a lot of promise in Justin Fields I do think they should go with experience in running an offense. I just don’t think Linehan would be a great fit. The Bears have to find that middle ground of Patullo and Linehan. I want a younger and fresher mind, but someone who has experience. I’m maybe being a little picky but I have a right to be in this situation. I watched Jay Cutler's career get ruined in Chicago because they bounced through way too many offensive coordinators. I can’t watch Fields go through the same.
Marcus Brady
Marcus Brady is an interesting name here spending nine years in the CFL before joining Frank Reich in 2018 as the Quarterbacks coach. He was with former Bears head coach Marc Trestman for four seasons in Montreal. If you’re a Bears fan, that’s a red flag. Let’s focus on his NFL time though. Brady hasn’t had it very easy to say the least. In his four seasons in Indianapolis he’s had four different quarterbacks to work with. When Andrew Luck retired the Colts were left speechless. They rolled into 2019 with Jacoby Brissett which went well above expectations but still not good. In 2020 they took in Phillip Rivers and the very little juice he had left. Then they traded for Carson Wentz before the 2021 season and it went okay. It’s hard to get consistent on offense when you can’t get your most important position locked up. Brady probably has very little play calling experience considering this was his first season as the offensive coordinator and Frank Reich is definitely the majority play caller. This in my opinion is a step in the right direction but still tough to have major faith in Brady. If it was Dan Quinn, the game would be different. A head coach with a lot of experience gives the offensive coordinators experience a little more leeway. Going into a season with an inexperienced general manager, head coach, and offensive play caller could be very dangerous.
Jason Garrett
Unfortunately it’s not impossible. Jason Garrett is a very experienced play caller and his head coaching experience may look great for the role that Chicago needs. I would die if it was Jason Garrett. He’s proven time and time again that he can’t run an offense. He led great Cowboys rosters to disappointment and underachievement. He was given a chance to revitalize his career just months after being fired. The Giants did everything to give Garrett a squad to work with. They drafted first round pick Kadarious Toney and signed Kenny Golladay to a multi year deal. Daniel Jones was entering year three and Saquan Barkley was coming back fully healthy off of an ACL tear. Garrett failed along with the rest of the staff. He didn’t even make it through the season. Although Eberflus spent many years under Garrett as linebackers coach, I hope he’s smart enough to realize that Garrett is far from a good option here in Chicago.
Pep Hamilton
Eberflus and Hamilton don’t have much of a connection but there’s more than you think. Pep Hamilton was the man famous for creating Andrew Luck. Eberflus got the opportunity to be a part of Luck’s coaching staff for one season. Hamilton also worked with Justin Herbert in 2020 where he set rookie records that led to his Offensive Rookie of the Year trophy. Pep got to work with Davis Mills this last season which didn’t go bad. An 88.8 passer rating in 11 games out of the mid round rookie Quarterback. Pep gets the most out of young quarterbacks and has experience as a play caller. He was the play caller under the Pagano regime in Indianapolis. In 2014 the Colts had the leagues #1 offense. I believe Pep is the perfect fit for the young Justin Fields. He also has been in the Chicago Bears system once before back in 2007 when the Bears had a three headed monster. Grossman, Griese, Orton. Pep had his work cut out for him. If I'm Eberflus, Pep would be on the first flight to Chicago.
In conclusion I think it's safe to say Pep Hamilton is the guy for the job in Chicago. He out ranks all of my other potential candidates by far. I said earlier in the article "I want a younger and fresher mind, but someone who has experience." A guy who fits right in the middle of Patullo and Linehan. Pep Hamilton checks all the boxes. He's only 47 years old and has worked with some of the great quarterbacks early in their careers. He has experience calling plays and damn good ones at that. This isn't difficult. You give Pep Hamilton the opportunity to coach Justin Fields he's taking it over Davis Mills all night. Make the call and Bear Down.
Follow me on Twitter @WillGrayPSN. Follow my sports network on Twitter @PineSportsNet.
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