Beware of Matt Eberflus taking Colts players with him to Chicago
The Indianapolis Colts recently lost defensive coordinator, Matt Eberflus, to the Chicago Bears and he may take others with him.
You hear it all the time, it’s a copycat league. Teams mimic things that worked well for other franchises all the time. The copying process becomes much easier when teams also take coaches from other teams.
When the coach joins the new franchise, they are able to implement philosophies that worked at their previous location. The next step is bringing along some players that you’ve built a relationship with.
This may soon be the reality for the Indianapolis Colts. On Thursday, Indy officially lost defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus when he was announced as the head coach of the Chicago Bears.
It has already been reported that Eberflus is taking Colts linebackers coach, Dave Borgonzi, with him to the Bears. Now the question becomes which players would Eberflus try to steal away from Indianapolis to help him take over and set a new culture in Chicago.
#Colts linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi is expected to join the #Bears staff under new head coach Matt Eberflus, per source. Borgonzi was with Eberflus in Dallas and Indy, where he helped develop All-Pro Darius Leonard and others.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) January 28, 2022
What Colts players could Matt Eberflus take to Chicago?
Indianapolis has 28 pending free agents, and while the team will let some walk, Indy will work to re-sign others. However, they may receive some competition from the Bears, whose new coach knows Colts players pretty well.
Since Eberflus worked with the defense, the players he may go after the most are defenders. If Indy doesn’t re-sign Al-Quadin Muhammad or Zaire Franklin don’t be surprised if they sign with Chicago.
Muhammad just finished his fourth season with Indianapolis, starting all 17 games and racking up six sacks. While he never developed into the elite pass rusher that Indy had hoped, he could be a productive depth piece on the Bears’ defense.
With how much Matt Eberflus loves AQM, we can all agree he’s a future Chicago Bear in free agency right? #Colts
— Locked On Colts Podcast (@LockedOnColts) January 27, 2022
As far as Franklin, he’s the epitome of a culture player. He’s a captain for the Colts, leads the special teams, and contributes on defense. If Eberflus wants a player to help instill his culture in the Chicago locker room, Franklin is the most likely person.
Franklin is loved on the Indianapolis team so that probably wouldn’t go over well with a lot of people in Indy. But, the game is the game and that wouldn’t be the last person Eberflus would go after.
Though he didn’t coach offense, Eberflus still knows what those players are about and that’s why he may also go after Zach Pascal.
Pascal isn’t a star receiver but he has been reliable catching the ball and shows a willingness and ability to block. He’d be a good contributing receiver to throw into the young Bears offense.
During the hiring cycle, Chicago interviewed three members of the Colts franchise and eventually hired Eberflus. Now, Indianapolis must be prepared to lose players to the Bears.
