The Chicago Bears have reportedly made another major decision regarding the coaching staff under head coach Matt Eberflus in 2024.

The Bears are expected to hire Buffalo Bills assistant head coach and defensive line coach Eric Washington for their vacant defensive coordinator position.

Washington will bring his coaching talents to Chicago with a strong history of developing exceptional defensive talent and overall productive play on the defensive side of the ball. Eberflus will still be in charge of defensive play-calling duties, a role he took over in 2023, which helped spark a second-half turnaround by the defense.

Eric Washington’s Prior Defensive Success:
Washington began his coaching career with the Bears as an assistant defensive line coach in 2008 under head coach Lovie Smith. In 2010, he was promoted as the full time defensive line coach. The Bears finished the season 11-5 and reached the NFC Championship game, which marked the last season Chicago has won a playoff game.

Julius Peppers and Israel Idonije each led the Bears with 8.0 sacks that season, which is more than any Bears player had during the 2023 season. Brian Urlacher led the Bears with 126 tackles and 13 tackles for a loss along with having 10 pass deflections. The Bears unit as a whole ranked fourth in points per game allowed and ninth in total yard per game allowed.

Washington left the Bears in 2011 to join the Carolina Panthers as their defensive line coach and remained in that role till 2017 until he was promoted as the Panthers defensive coordinator from 2018-2019. Luke Kuechly was named as a Pro Bowler during each season from 2013-2019 and earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2018. Thomas Davis earned Pro Bowl nods in each season from 2015-2017. Kawann Short was also given the nod in 2015 and 2018.

In 2019 with Washington serving as the defensive coordinator, the Panthers unit ranked second in the NFL in sacks with Mario Addison (9.5), Bruce Irvin (8.5), and Brian Burns (7.5) each recording 7.0+ sacks.

During the 2019 season, the Panthers moved on from head coach Ron Rivera, leading to Washington landing with the Bills under head coach Sean McDermott as the team’s defensive line coach. From 2020-2023, the Bills recorded 174 sacks (8th in the NFL) and 113 takeaways (2nd in the NFL) on defense.

The Bills’ 54 sacks in 2023 ranked 4th in the NFL led by Leonard Floyd who ranked up 10.5 sacks. Ed Oliver, Terrel Bernard, A.J. Epenesa, and Gregory Rousseau each posted 5.0+ sacks. By comparison, Montez Sweat is the only Bears player who reached that mark in 2023 and he only played nine games with the team.

Bears 2024 Defensive Expectations:
One thing is clear about the Bears defense with Washington on the staff leading the unit alongside Eberflus in 2024. A major emphasis will continue to be made on the defensive line. Over the last two seasons under Eberflus, the Bears have ranked last in the NFL with 50 sacks in that span. The Bears had 12 fewer sacks than the next lowest team team in the league, the Panthers, who recorded 62 sacks in that span.

The Bears already made one splash by acquiring Sweat which proved to be a major success but the team will need another top caliber pass rusher to accompany him. The 2024 free agent edge market will be filled with plenty of elite talent such as Chase Young, Danielle Hunter, Denico Autry, and Josh Uche just to name a few. The Bills will also have two of their own edge rushers potentially entering free agency in Floyd and Epenesa who could reunite with Washington in Chicago.

Another option to acquire another top edge rusher will be through the draft with many mock drafts linking the Bears to FSU’s Jared Verse, UCLA’s Laiatu Latu, and Alabama’s Dallas Turner with the ninth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

The emphasis on an elite and talented defensive line will not only help get after the pass rusher but also help create takeaways on the back end. The Bears defense was extremely opportunistic in 2023 ranking second in the NFL with 19 takeaways from Weeks 10-18. Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards, Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson each recorded 4+ takeaways during the 2023 season.

The hiring of Washington as the defensive coordinator proves that the Bears are committed to getting after the passer and forcing turnovers in 2024. That all starts with the defensive line up-front which will be seeing some major improvements under Washington’s guidance in 2024.