Falcons Interview Fired Bears Coach for Defensive Coordinator Opening

The Atlanta Falcons announced concluding another interview for their defensive coordinator opening on Jan. 18.

The Falcons tweeted they interviewed former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus.

We have interviewed Matt Eberflus for our defensive coordinator opening
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) January 18, 2025

Eberflus served as Bears head coach from 2022-24. Chicago fired him the day after the team lost to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving. Eberflus made a horrendous clock management mistake in the final minute of the fourth quarter that helped contribute to the defeat.

The Bears were also in the middle of a long losing streak at the time. When Chicago fired Eberflus, the Bears had lost six in a row. Chicago suffered 10 straight defeats before finally winning the season finale.

Eberflus went 14-32 as Chicago's head coach. His best record was 7-10 during the 2023 season.

But he had quite a bit of success as the Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator prior to becoming Chicago's head coach. In three of his four years as Indianapolis defensive coordinator, the Colts defense was in the top half of the league in yards allowed and points yielded. They were 11th or better in those two categories during both 2018 and 2020.

The Falcons have an opening at defensive coordinator after firing Jimmy Lake on Jan. 11. Lake served in the role just one season.

Including Eberflus, the Falcons have interviewed five candidates to replace Lake. The other four were Green Bay Packers defensive passing game coordinator Derrick Ansley, former Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, University of Michigan defensive coordinator Don "Wink" Martindale and ex-New York Jets defensive coordinator and interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich.

The Falcons are also set to interview former Arizona Cardinals head coach and Carolina Panthers interim head coach Steve Wilks next week. Wilks was the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator in 2023.

Eberflus began his coaching career as a student assistant at Toledo in 1992. He spent nine seasons on the Toledo coaching staff, rising to defensive backs coach.

In 2001, Eberflus received his first defensive coordinator opportunity with Missouri. He served in that role for eight years until becoming the Cleveland Browns linebackers coach in 2009.

After two seasons in Cleveland, Eberflus needed a new job after the Browns fired Eric Mangini. Eberflus joined the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff as linebackers coach in 2011. He served in that position for seven seasons.

Eberflus became Indianapolis' defensive coordinator under former head coach Frank Reich. The Colts had three winning seasons in four years with Eberflus on staff.