This Matt Eberflus Story Proves He Can Do What Nagy Couldn't

There were several criticisms of Matt Nagy during his time as head coach of the Chicago Bears. One that always seemed to stand out the most was his lack of flexibility. The man never was able to do a basic thing expected of coaches. Finding a way to maximize the strengths and hide the weaknesses of his football teams. This was especially the case on offense where it too often felt like he was stubbornly clinging to his preferred scheme rather than adjusting to the players he had. It is why the offense always struggled. It is also something the Bears seem to have considered when hiring Matt Eberflus. When discussing the new Bears head coach, most will assume that he is another scheme guy. That he prefers to run a classic Tampa-2 defense in the style of Lovie Smith or Rod Marinelli. While that system is indeed the bedrock of his defense, the truth is far different. Andy Benoit, a former insider for the MMQB, did a deep dive on what made Eberflus so successful in his first year as Colts defensive coordinator in 2018 despite clearly lacking the necessary players to run his defense.

Indianapolis had been running a 3-4 system for years under Chuck Pagano.

It became clear early on that the team lacked athletic defensive linemen. This made it difficult for them to win in the pass rush department by themselves. So in order to get the most out of them, Eberflus realized he needed to employ stunts, twists, and slants to help create more opportunities. Yet it wasn't enough. So the coach decided to do something different. Something many coaches of that system might never have considered.

Indy simply had no force at 3-technique—the “Aaron Donald” penetrating defensive tackle position that’s crucial to every 4-3 scheme. So, Eberflus did the unthinkable and eradicated the position from his base fronts, instead playing with two nose-shade tackles, capitalizing on Indy’s unique combination of “good size, iffy athleticism” at defensive tackle. Putting both nose tackles in the A-gaps changed the defense. With centers now unable to work up to Indy’s linebackers, opponents no longer could execute their base zone runs.

That daring move paid off.

The Colts finished with the 8th-best run defense in the league and 10th in points allowed. Over their final seven games, they allowed 17 or fewer points four times. This included a shutout of the Dallas Cowboys, a team that would score 36 and 27 points in the two games following their matchup with Indianapolis. [video width="854" height="480" mp4="https://www.sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Colts-Defense-Gets-the-SHUTOUT-vs.-Cowboys-in-Week-15.mp4"][/video] It would've been so easy for Matt Eberflus to adhere to what he knew best. Stick to the system, coach it consistently, and hope the players learn to execute it better. He realized almost right away that was never going to work. If he wanted that defense to perform well, he'd have to change. So he adjusted to the strengths of his players. They bought in and the results soon followed. This is the kind of guy now running the Bears.