Cowboys Coach Ripped By 'Annoyed' Locker Room
FRISCO - Some of the criticism of the Dallas Cowboys' hiring of new head coach Brian Schottenheimer has come from inside the family. While the arrival of Matt Eberflus as defensive coordinator didn't spark the same outcries, his former players are now painting of grim picture of his past tenure.
Eberflus was fired by the Chicago Bears - the first head coach sacked during the season in the franchise's 104-year history - last Thanksgiving after bungled clock management cost them a chance to upset the Detroit Lions. But it was a colossal collapse a couple weeks before that apparently sent the Bears' locker room into a tailspin that put Eberflus' authority in limbo.
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The Bears were on the verge of going 5-2 in late October. They led the Washington Commanders 15-12 until giving up Jayden Daniels' Hail Mary touchdown on the final play. A month later, they trailed Detroit by only three points but failed to call a timeout on their final drive until having time to run only one last play that failed.
In a new interview with Esquire magazine, Bears' quarterback Caleb Williams admits that Eberflus' game management and handling of the loss to Washington negatively affected the team.
"How [Eberflus] handled it at that time, for that game, was, I think, one of the things that throughout the locker room people talked about and were annoyed by," Williams said.
After the Hail Mary, the Bears lost their next nine games and finished the season 5-12.
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Eberflus won't be in charge of calling timeouts for the Cowboys' offense, but he just might be positioning the defense to defend a final Hail Mary pass.
Related: Worms! Cowboys' Dak and Micah Star in Hilarious Video Going Viral
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