Why Colts were comfortable letting Matt Eberflus take defensive staff to Chicago

[JAFF]

Why Colts were comfortable letting Matt Eberflus take defensive staff to Chicago

https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...go/9317577002/

INDIANAPOLIS — Newly minted Bears head coach Matt Eberflus has officially hired Indianapolis safeties coach Alan Williams to be his defensive coordinator in Chicago, leaving the road clear for the Colts to bring in an entirely new defensive staff once the franchise finds its next coordinator.

The Colts loved Williams, the veteran coach who’d been a part of Frank Reich’s staff from the beginning and had previous coordinator experience in Minnesota.

Shortly after Chicago hired Eberflus to be its head coach, Reich and Colts general manager Chris Ballard made the decision to hire the franchise’s next defensive coordinator from outside the organization, knowing it meant Indianapolis might lose most or all of its defensive staff.

“Once we decided we weren’t going to promote internally, we wanted to give the new defensive coordinator a chance to hire his own staff, and give ‘Flus a chance to bring people that were familiar with him,” Ballard said on Chicago’s “Mully and Haugh” radio show on 670 The Score earlier this week. “We think it’s a win-win.”

Indianapolis interviewed six candidates from Saturday to Tuesday, all from outside the organization — Las Vegas defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, Jacksonville defensive coordinator Joe Cullen, Washington defensive backs coach Chris Harris, New Orleans defensive backs coach Kris Richard, former Philadelphia defensive coordinator and Detroit head coach Jim Schwartz and Dallas secondary coach Joe Whitt Jr.

By choosing those six, the Colts cast a wide net, bringing in candidates with experience in an array of defensive schemes ranging from the Lovie Smith-Tony Dungy tree that produced Eberflus to the Cover-3-heavy defenses run by Seattle, even to coaches who have extensive experience in the 3-4, although it’s not likely Indianapolis would make that big a change to its base defense.

But the wide range of candidates backed up Ballard’s indication at his postseason news conference that the Colts weren’t married to another coach who came from the Smith-Dungy tree that originated with Monte Kiffin’s famous Tampa Two scheme.

Indianapolis was happy with Eberflus’ work, most notably four straight seasons in the top 10 in the NFL in takeaways and three out of four seasons in the top 10 in scoring defense, and the system evolved far beyond its Cover-2 origins. By the end of the 2021 season, Eberflus was mixing the use of several different zone coverages and increasing the use of both man-to-man and match zone coverages, a development that helped the Colts finally lower the completion percentages they were allowing.


Even in the areas where we might have been ranked middle of the pack … I’m pretty sure in both third down and red zone, as the year went on, we got better. I do think the defense was on the right track as the year went on and getting better,” Reich said. “Really feel excited about the takeaways, and feel good about schematically and systematically how we were approaching third down and red zone.”

Ultimately, that evolution played a role in the decision Indianapolis made to take a walk through the wider defensive forest, rather than focusing on the fruit from a single tree.

My whole thing with the 3-4, everybody ends up in nickel and dime defense anyway,” Ballard said before Eberflus was hired in Chicago. “You end up with a four-man front. That’s where you end up. Frank and I and Mr. (Jim) Irsay, we’d talk through it and figure out which way we wanted to go, but at the end of the day, it wouldn’t have to be from a specific tree."

For that reason, Eberflus has been able to take most of the staff with him.

Chicago has already announced the hiring of Williams and former Colts linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi, and cornerbacks coach James Rowe is expected to join them. Defensive line coach Brian Baker was not retained by Indianapolis and hasn’t been mentioned in Chicago’s staff changes so far.

“Alan has really good command of the whole picture,” Reich told Bears reporters this week. “Alan is fast on his feet as a thinker. Listening, being on the headset and hearing ‘Flus call the defenses, interact with the defensive staff, hearing Alan’s input, hearing the dialogue between he and Flus, how dynamic it was, how much ‘Flus trusted him over those four years seeing that relationship develop.”


And as soon as the Colts hire their new coordinator, he’ll be able to start building that kind of rapport and relationship with the staff he assembles.

[Oldcolt]

So they loved the coaching staff so much they are happy to let them all walk. They are so happy with the defense they want to go outside of the coaching tree the defense grew in. Maybe it is me but the actions don't seem to add up to the words. "Once we decided we weren't going to promote internally" should have elicited a follow up question as to why.

[Dam8610]

Originally Posted by Oldcolt

So they loved the coaching staff so much they are happy to let them all walk. They are so happy with the defense they want to go outside of the coaching tree the defense grew in. Maybe it is me but the actions don't seem to add up to the words. "Once we decided we weren't going to promote internally" should have elicited a follow up question as to why.

Probably because Eberflus was McDaniels's coordinator that they kept on and now that he's leaving, Ballard is letting Reich pick his coaching staff.

[Oldcolt]

Originally Posted by Dam8610

Probably because Eberflus was McDaniels's coordinator that they kept on and now that he's leaving, Ballard is letting Reich pick his coaching staff.

After 4 years? If they liked Eberflus' defense they would not have wanted to change it and if they want to change it why wait 4 years? Team is a mess right now.

[Brylok]

Because it's the beginning of the end of the Ballard/Reich regime?

[HoosierinFL]

I think Ballard is the kind of guy that is not going to stand in the way of the careers of the people on his staff.
Sure we could have locked Flus down and rejected Chicago's ask to interview him. But that wouldn't be good for morale.

Ballard knows that if he has the reputation of not letting guys advance their careers, then talented position coaches won't come here, knowing they'll get stuck.

He also knows that if his organization becomes known as a place where people can make a name for themselves and become attractive to bigger jobs, then the talent will come.

Letting Flus take the job was the only real possibility, and once that's done, the position coaches on that side of the ball are in an unstable position because you never know who the new coordinator will want, so letting them go with Flus is the right thing to do.

Everything we see with Ballard is always about being honorable and doing the right thing. its what he did when keeping these guys after McDaniels pulled out. And he's still doing it now by letting them go.

All this talk in here about it being contradictory or a signal that the Ballard/Reich era is ending is just you guys being a bunch of dumb bitches.

Wise up and quit being dumb bitches ffs.

[JAFF]

Originally Posted by Oldcolt

So they loved the coaching staff so much they are happy to let them all walk. They are so happy with the defense they want to go outside of the coaching tree the defense grew in. Maybe it is me but the actions don't seem to add up to the words. "Once we decided we weren't going to promote internally" should have elicited a follow up question as to why.

The next DC more than likely will want to bring in "his" choices to work the D. Releasing the remains of the D staff now allows them the time to find jobs. There might be some retained, but we won't know that until the position of DC is filled.

[AlwaysSunnyinIndy]

Originally Posted by JAFF

There might be some retained, but we won't know that until the position of DC is filled.

"Some" is like two possibilities - a pair of assistant position coaches

Last year's defensive staff:

Defensive coaches
Defensive coordinator – Matt Eberflus - Chicago Head Coach
Defensive line – Brian Baker - contract not renewed
Special defensive assistant/asst. defensive line – Matt Raich - TBD
Linebackers – Dave Borgonzi - headed to Chicago
Defensive backs/cornerbacks – James Rowe - headed to Chicago
Defensive backs/safeties – Alan Williams - Chicago Defensive Coordinator
Assistant defensive backs – David Overstreet II - TBD

[rcubed]

Originally Posted by JAFF

The next DC more than likely will want to bring in "his" choices to work the D. Releasing the remains of the D staff now allows them the time to find jobs. There might be some retained, but we won't know that until the position of DC is filled.

what you and HoosierinFLare saying is correct, but I think the bigger point is they decided not to promote from within, which is/could be telling.

They were not going to block an upward movement of the DC or some assistants, thats the decent and common thing to do. But, if they loved how the D was going then why not continue with that tree, make Alan Williams DC and maybe try to retain some of the assistants.

Ballard/Reich seemed to quickly decide on an outside candidate. Once that decision was made then let all the assistants leave. Seems pretty straight foward to me.

[JAFF]

Originally Posted by rcubed

what you and HoosierinFLare saying is correct, but I think the bigger point is they decided not to promote from within, which is/could be telling.

They were not going to block an upward movement of the DC or some assistants, thats the decent and common thing to do. But, if they loved how the D was going then why not continue with that tree, make Alan Williams DC and maybe try to retain some of the assistants.

Ballard/Reich seemed to quickly decide on an outside candidate. Once that decision was made then let all the assistants leave. Seems pretty straight foward to me.

I agree. Letting someone on contract dangle while the team takes interviews is wrong