Report: Bears hire Matt Eberflus as head coach, pass on Jim Caldwell

There’s a new head coach in the NFC North—and it’s not Jim Caldwell.

It appears Jim Caldwell will not be making a return to the black and blue division.

On Thursday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news that the Chicago Bears have hired Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus as their new head coach. Eberflus was a finalist along with Caldwell and Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who is reportedly staying with Dallas.

Caldwell’s been considered a popular name in this year’s coaching carousel, but it appears he may go another year without landing a head coaching job. He was also interviewed by the Jacksonville Jaguars earlier this year, but he has not come in for a second interview yet. The odds-on favorite to win that job, as of right now, is Byron Leftwich, who is the only candidate to have had a second interview in Jacksonville.

As for Eberflus, he has been a top coaching candidate for a couple of years now. In his four years as the Colts defensive coordinator, Indianapolis has finished in the top 10 in points allowed three times. In his coaching career, stemming back to 1992 at Toledo as a graduate assistant, Eberflus has yet to be a head coach until now.

Seven head coaching vacancies still remain around the NFL, as the Bears (Eberflus) and the Broncos (Packers OC Nathaniel Hackett) are the only two hirings that have been made official thus far.