It’s been a few weeks since the Chicago Bears fired head coach Matt Eberflus, and now as the dust begins to settle on his departure, more information is coming to light about the decision to hire him nearly three years ago. Eberflus was signed by the Bears in January 2022, just days after general manager Ryan Poles was hired.

The decision to hire Eberflus was met with skepticism by many because he was less well known compared to other candidates and was a defensive coach. He left his previous position as defensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts, but a new report suggests he wouldn’t have had that job for long had he not moved to the Bears.

According to Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune, Eberflus should be fired by the Colts if he didn’t get the Bears job. “Multiple league sources told the Tribune that had the Bears not hired Eberflus, the Colts would have fired him and that he may have had to pursue a coaching job elsewhere in the league,” Wiederer wrote in a recent column.

The Colts were among the top 10 defenses in categories such as points allowed and interceptions, but ended the season with a dud against the Jacksonville Jaguars that prevented them from reaching the postseason. The blame wasn’t entirely on the defense, but they haven’t exactly been an elite unit this season.

The report also raises questions about the timing, as Eberflus was hired in late January, weeks after the regular season ended. It seems strange that a team would wait this long to make a change in one of its coordinators, even for head coaching vacancies. Most teams change their coach within a week of the end of the season.

Still, if what Wiederer reported is true, it is another setback for Poles that he decided to hire Eberflus and stay with him for the better part of two seasons. While team president Kevin Warren has hinted that the Poles won’t retire, there’s enough smoke to wonder whether that will still be the case at the end of the season. We’ll see if the general manager gets the opportunity to select a new coach. Hopefully it will be someone who is not are at risk of being fired from their current position.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Matt Eberflus was set to be fired by the Colts before joining Bears HC