Report: Bears Request to Interview Colts Assistant GM Ed Dodds, DC Matt Eberflus for Current Vacancies

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Chicago Bears have requested to interview Indianapolis Colts assistant general manager Ed Dodds for their general manager opening, as well as defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus for their head coaching vacancy:

It comes just a day after the Bears reportedly requested to interview Colts director of college scouting Morocco Brown for their general manager opening too.

Dodds has been Colts general manager Chris Ballard’s ‘right-hand man’ since joining the franchise in 2017 and has been instrumental in accumulating talent through both the NFL Draft and free agency. He’s highly regarded among league circles for his scouting acumen.

Prior to being hired by the Colts, Dodds previously served as the Seattle Seahawks Senior Executive Personnel Director (2015-2017) and a longtime national scout.

Meanwhile, 51 year old Matt Eberflus joined the Colts in 2018, having previously served as the Dallas Cowboys linebackers coach and passing game coordinator (2016-17), Dallas Cowboys linebackers coach (2011-15), and Cleveland Browns linebacker coach (2009-10) among his professional football coaching stints.

Deploying a ‘fast, swarming,’ Cover 3 derivative zone defense, Eberflus’ defensive unit ranked 7th overall in weighted DVOA to finish the season. His defense, highlighted by turnover machine Darius Leonard, helped pave the way for the Colts to rank 2nd in the league with most takeaways (33) to conclude the 2021 campaign.

That being said, suffering from a lack of pass rush and a banged up secondary, Eberflus’ secondary struggled to close out the season—contributing to the Colts’ epic collapse.

Nevertheless, both men have been key contributors to the Colts over the past few seasons, and their losses would be significant to the organization as a whole—although not necessarily irreplaceable.