Former Bears HC 'involved' in Bengals’ DC search

Eberflus has held some position in coaching since he finished college in 1992, so it’s no surprise that, following his dismissal from Chicago, he’s put himself back on the market for a coaching job. After nearly 20 years of coaching at the collegiate level at Toledo and Missouri, Eberflus first broke into the NFL as a linebackers coach for the Browns in 2009. He held the same job in Dallas for five years before adding passing game coordinator to his title.

In 2018, Eberflus got his first opportunity as an NFL defensive coordinator in Indianapolis. Eberflus almost immediately started getting head coaching buzz, interviewing for an open position in Cleveland in 2019, but that job ultimately went to Freddie Kitchens. Instead, Eberflus remained in Indianapolis until 2022, when he was granted his first head coaching opportunity in Chicago.

The Bears saw big improvements on defense over Eberflus’ three seasons with the team, but offensive struggles continued as Chicago attempted to handle the first few years of Justin Fields‘ career and eventually moved on to Caleb Williams. The Bears made Eberflus the first head coach in the franchise’s storied history to be fired midseason. Overall, Eberflus went 14-32 in his first stint as a head coach.

The Bengals fired defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo after watching a defense that finished 26th in scoring defense and 25th in yards allowed derail a season that saw a top-10 offense in which their quarterback led the league in passing yards and touchdowns and their wide receiver won the receiving triple crown. Anarumo had been in place as the Bengals DC ever since Zac Taylor was hired as head coach.

If Eberflus lands on his feet as a defensive coordinator once again, it would be only his second coordinator job in the NFL. Still, the Bengals are desperate to see improvement on the defensive side of the ball in order to maximize what they hope will be at least one more year with Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase.