Matt Eberflus isn’t stupid. One doesn’t get to be an NFL head coach without understanding how difficult it can be to manage a locker room. These are dozens of human beings with emotions. Keeping them all on the same page is one of the hardest jobs in this business, especially when the team loses a lot. Eberflus found himself in dangerous territory for a head coach. The Bears had lost 14 games in a row. People were calling for his job. It felt like only a matter of time before the locker room rebelled against him.
Yet that never happened. After a brutal loss to Denver that saw the Bears cough up a 28-7 lead, they came right back four days later and throttled Washington 40-20. Then, after a dispiriting 19-13 loss to Minnesota, they again rebounded to thump Las Vegas 30-12. It’s becoming clear that Eberflus has never once lost control of the locker. He still has guys believing, and the results are starting to show up. How did he do it? How has he managed to keep their faith through such struggles? Adam Jahns of The Athletic revealed a story that explains.
It goes back to a decision by the coach to force his players to talk to each other.
In the spring, Eberflus mixed and matched his players for meetings. It was time to get to know each other behind position groups. They had three things to discuss over 30 minutes and in different groups.
“Who’s your hero in your life?”
“What was your hardship?”
“What was your highlight?”
The meetings were known as “skull sessions.”
“We try to make it more personal to actually understand who is in there,” Jenkins said. “You hang out with the (offensive) line all day. You want to know what’s going on on the (defensive) line across from you. That’s how you get that continuity.”
That’s how you get team chemistry.
Eberflus saw it carry over immediately.
“Those conversations would then bleed off into the cafeteria,” Eberflus told The Athletic during a recent interview at Halas Hall. “Guys would get to know each other. They would do stuff outside the building. So you’re just building upon that — and that’s what we’re talking about. That’s really the glue that keeps us together. It’s the relationships we have and the friendship that we have with each other in the building.”
Matt Eberflus used a little tactic from Herman Boone.
For those who don’t know, Boone was the character played by Denzel Washington in the classic movie Remember The Titans. He noticed early on as head coach of a high school team that players were always separated by skin color on buses. So he enacted a simple plan to integrate them by offense and defense, forcing players of both races to sit together. It wasn’t popular at first, but it forced players to talk to each other. Over time, it had a profound impact on team chemistry, bringing guys closer together.
It might sound cheezy to cynical people these days, but one can’t argue with the results. Matt Eberflus knew if the Bears were going to survive the inevitable roller coaster of an NFL season, they would need to lean on each other. Guys had to know they had support when things got tough. It’s evident that the approach is working. The Bears have played some of their best football over the past four weeks. If not for two crushing fumble returns for touchdowns, they could be 4-3 right now.
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It’s okay to question Eberflus’ ability to manage games. However, you can’t dispute his ability to hold a locker room together.
