On Sunday, Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus returns to Chicago, the club that fired him fewer than 10 months ago.
Asked Thursday about facing his former team, Eberflus downplayed the reunion with many former players.
"I look at it as one opportunity for us to go out there and really execute. It's Game 3," he said, via Marquee Sports Network.
Eberflus went 14-32 as the Bears' head coach. He was fired after Week 13 after horrific clock management in a Thanksgiving Day loss to the Lions.
Asked about the reaction he expects from Bears fans, Eberflus again shrugged off the question.
"I haven't thought about it," he said.
When the Dallas DC takes on Caleb Williams, it will be just the third time since 1970 that a second-year first-round QB meets the defensive coordinator who drafted him as a head coach: Week 2, 2019: Cleveland's Baker Mayfield vs. Jets DC Gregg Williams (CLE won, 23-3); Week 1, 2004: Chicago's Rex Grossman vs. Lions DC Dick Jauron (DET won, 20-16).
It's apropos that the Bears, who have cycled through quarterbacks and coaches, would make that small list twice.
The familiarity between the coaching staff and players could factor into Sunday's contest. Eberflus knows the players well. Ben Johnson also went up against Eberflus twice a year in the NFC North, so he understands what to expect on Sunday.
"He might throw a lot of curveballs at us," Bears receiver DJ Moore said of Eberflus. "Knowing him, he'll do the zone concepts, so we're gonna see a bunch of that, hopefully. Hopefully they'll throw some man in there so we can go after them."
Williams noted that he faced Eberflus' defense a lot in practice.
"I've played a bunch of ball versus that defense and kind of how he runs it, so it's interesting in a way," Williams said. "Obviously, Matt was my coach obviously last year. So, just being able to move past all of that and be able to go out there and help the Chicago Bears be 1-0 this week."
At 0-2, the Bears desperately need to notch their first win under Johnson. Getting that against Eberflus would be a bonus. Of course, the Cowboys defense smothering Williams would provide the ex-coach some saucy revenge.
