AM LEAVING ! Jaylon Johnson accepted a deal of $89.5 millions to depart from Chicago Bears Today after…
CHICAGO (CBS) — Eric Washington has been hired as the new defensive coordinator for the Bears, the team announced Saturday.
Washington, 54, ha 20 years of NFL coaching experience under his belt – including several with the Bears previously.
He was a defensive assistant for the Bears in the 2008-2009 season, and a defensive line coach in 2010.
Washington spent the past four seasons with the Buffalo Bills, as the senior defensive line coach in 2022, and assistant head coach in 2023.
A second defensive coordinator candidate from outside Halas Hall has emerged.
According to Mike Garafolo, the Bears will interview Terrell Williams, Titans assistant head coach/defensive line coach for their open position on the defensive staff.
Williams has 26 years of coaching experience, including 12 years at the NFL level.
He’s spent the last six seasons in Tennessee, where he helped head coach Mike Vrabel build one of the more consistently stout defenses in the league.
In 2022, the Titans had the No. 1 rush defense in the NFL, allowing just 76.9 yards per game.
Along the way, signs have pointed toward Eberflus’ job being more secure than it seemed earlier this season, when the Bears started 0-4 and then 3-8 before its recent rally.
The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported on Dec. 2 that the Bears weren’t expected to fire Eberflus before the season ended.
One week later, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, reported that some within the Bears organization felt the team had improved throughout the season.
Furthermore, the feeling was that the Bears had “continued to play hard” for Eberflus.
Ultimately, it seems as though Eberflus has bought himself some time with the Bears’ latest rally.
For now, Chicago has two winnable games down the stretch as well at home versus the 7-8 Atlanta Falcons and at the 7-8 Green Bay Packers.
