The NFL is an ever-changing landscape. New technological advances and new rules bring new challenges, especially for head coaches. One of the latest epidemics sweeping the league is players violating league policies on sports gambling. Several players were already slapped with harsh suspensions for betting on games. Now another significant group joined them, led by another prominent name. The team hit the hardest is the Detroit Lions, with several names on the roster out for at least six games this year and some even longer. It isn’t a great look for head coach Dan Campbell. Conversely, one must hand it to Matt Eberflus.
The Chicago Bears head coach arrived right as this issue began cropping up across the league. He took over a team that was absorbing a lot of young players that still hadn’t quite learned responsibility. It would’ve been so easy for them to stray into bad habits. Eberflus didn’t let that happen. He relentlessly taught them to be smart, on and off the field. Anything that could serve as potential pitfalls became areas of education. As a result, not a single Bears player was mentioned in the latest round of gambling crackdowns.
Matt Eberflus understands how the league works.
Many things can derail a team at this level. Few more so than players making dumb decisions off the field. A head coach’s job is to hammer home exactly how disastrous such things can be. Gambling might be fun, but not at the cost of the team. Tennessee and Detroit feel that reality right now. Eberflus may have a lot to prove in the win column, but nobody can say the man is ignorant of his duties as a teacher. It’s often so easy for a head coach to ignore problems away from the Xs and Os.
That is a mistake Matt Eberflus refused to make. He was well-trained by several greats, including Nick Saban and Gary Pinkel. Discipline must prevail if you’re going to win. It appears the Bears’ locker room has taken his lessons to heart. They remain focused solely on preparing for the season. No extracurricular activities have been reported for months. Presuming that holds, Eberflus will have them ready for kickoff in September. If he can finally start stacking wins, the nationwide respect for him should rise.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
