SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers are hiring former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus as a defensive assistant on coach Kyle Shanahan's staff.
A person familiar with the deal said Thursday that Eberflus will join the defensive staff under coordinator Raheem Morris. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team hadn't announced the hiring.
Eberflus does not yet have an official title but is expected to fill a similar role to the one held last season by Gus Bradley. Robert Saleh took Bradley as his defensive coordinator in Tennessee after being hired as head coach following a one-year stint as defensive coordinator in San Francisco.
Eberflus has spent 17 seasons in the NFL as a head coach and defensive assistant, having spent last season as the coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys. He was fired after one season as the Cowboys allowed the most points and intercepted the fewest passes in franchise history.
Eberflus had spent two-plus seasons before that as head coach for the Bears before getting fired with a 14-32 record midway through the 2024 campaign.
Eberflus had a four-year run before that as defensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts and has extensive experience coaching linebackers in the NFL.
The hiring of Eberflus is a signal that the 49ers are not planning any major defensive overhauls in the switch from Saleh to Morris. Eberflus is well-versed in defenses that run four-man fronts and play mostly zone coverage like San Francisco has typically done in nine seasons with Shanahan as head coach.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Sherri Roberts Quartet with Sherri Roberts vocals, Dave Udolf piano, Chris Amberger bass, an… Read more"I'm Hip" A Tribute to the Hep-Cat Singers-Songwriters of Jazz
Exclusive film screening in San Mateo Read moreA LITTLE FELLOW: THE LEGACY OF A.P.GIANNINI
CA Is Burning said:
This sounds like a monopolistic move and should be challenged
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.