Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesThe Chicago Bears are going to hire Indianapolis Colts defensive coach Matt Eberflus as their next head coach, according to a report by Adam Schefter.
He will replace Matt Nagy, who went 34-31 in four seasons in Chicago and made the playoffs twice. The Bears finished the season with a disappointing 6-11 record.
The Bears have had three different coaches since they moved on from Lovie Smith. Nagy led the team to the playoffs.
Eberflus has a job to do to return the Bears to contention and maximize young quarterback Justin Fields, who had an up-and-down season. He completed 58.9 percent of his passes, finishing with 1,870 passing yards, seven touchdown and 10 interceptions. He ran for over 400 yards and two scores.
The first priority is to build an offense that gets the most out of Fields.
Second-year wideout Darnell Mooney and tight end Cole Kmet showed promise in the future, but Allen Robinson II was a huge disappointment.
Eberflus will try to maximize their output. He has a lengthy resume, from his time at Toledo, where he held various roles, to his eight years at Missouri, where he was a defensive coach, to his 13 years in the NFL, where he was a linebackers coach for the Dallas Cowboys.
He was the Colts' defensive coach for the past four years, where his defenses finished in the top 10 in points allowed three times and in the top 10 in yards allowed once.
He will inherit a defense that finished 22nd in points allowed and the bigger question is whether he and his staff can develop Fields into a top quarterback.
