Matt Eberflus is a big fan of NFL history. He made that clear from the moment he took over the Chicago Bears when he placed phone calls or text messages to 30-35 team alumni introducing himself and encouraging them to visit Halas Hall. Dick Butkus was his favorite player growing up. It seemed almost destined that he would end up head coach of this team. There were plenty of reasons why the man himself believed it too.
First was his connection with GM Ryan Poles. When asked about whether he had doubts he’d be chosen for the job by Peter King of NBC Sports, Eberflus confidently said no. He knew from the moment he met Poles the two shared a common vision for how to build a winning football team. King then asked about the gravitas of running a founding franchise like the Bears. Were there any goosebumps moments for him throughout the past couple of months?
Eberflus recalled one specific instant quite well.
“Yeah, there’s a couple of them. When I went for the second interview and I had my bag with me because I was staying overnight. I was going up to talk to Ryan Poles and in the lobby, they have a locker there and I put my bag in there. I looked up and it said, ‘#7 Halas‘. That’s his jersey. I got some goosebumps there. That was pretty special.”
Another moment came after he was hired. Bears equipment manager Tony Medlin presented him with his official hat. It had the trademark letter B on it. It turns out that isn’t random either. That hat was the same type George Halas wore during his final days coaching the team. Since then, only head coaches have been allowed to wear it. Matt Eberflus is only the 17th person in history given that honor.
Pretty cool stuff. It isn’t hard to understand why the 51-year old only needed 30 minutes to determine whether he wanted to coach Chicago or Jacksonville. The Bears won his heart almost from the moment he stepped into their building. It became a question of whether their new GM felt he was the best fit for the job. That became obvious right away. Now Eberflus is set on his course to make this organization what it should be.
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