The Chicago Bears will face Matt Eberflus in 2025: Here's how the Bears fared vs. former coaches

It's official: The Chicago Bears will take on Matt Eberflus' defense in the 2025 season.

The Dallas Cowboys tabbed Eberflus as its next defensive coordinator under first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer, announcing the hiring on Tuesday. 

What makes the move even more interesting is how Eberflus won't have to wait long for a reunion with the Bears. The Dallas Cowboys are scheduled to play the Bears at Soldier Field in 2025. The full schedule will be announced this May.

The Bears fired Eberflus on Nov. 29, 2024.

That will be far from the first time the Bears have seen their former head coach on the other sideline after they've left the Bears. In all, the Bears have a 10-5 record against their former head coaches as an opposing head coach or coordinator.

Here's how the Bears have fared when facing their past head coaches as either head coaches or coordinators after they departed Chicago.

Chicago Bears vs. former head coaches

Abe Gibron: 0-1 vs. the Bears

Gibron was the Bears' head coach for just three seasons, from 1972 to 1974. After that, he had a massive hand in helping the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers get off the ground.

He was the team's defensive coordinator and chief defensive assistant for two years in the 1976 and 1977 seasons before he settled in as the Bucs' defensive line coach from 1978 to 1984. In 1977, as the chief defensive assistant for the Buccaneers, the Bears beat Tampa Bay 10-0.

Head Coach Mike Ditka of the Chicago Bears on the field before a mid circa 1980's NFL football game at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. Ditka was the head coach of the Bears from 1982-92. (Focus on Sport/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Mike Ditka: 1-1 record vs. the Bears

Da Coach led the Bears to their first and only Super Bowl title with arguably the greatest team ever to play professional football. The Bears still fired him on January 5, 1993, after a 5-11 season.

Ditka later took the head coaching job with the New Orleans Saints and faced the Bears twice, garnering a 1-1 record. The first faceoff was a 20-17 win over the Bears in the 1997 season at Soldier Field. In the 1999 season, the Bears' beat Ditka's Saints 14-10 at Soldier Field. Dikta was fired in New Orleans after the 1999 season.

Jack Pardee: 1-2 vs. the Bears

Pardee coached the Bears back in 1977, garnering a 20-22 record in three seasons while making the playoffs only once. After he left Chicago, however, he faced the Bears two more times as a head coach.

After departing Chicago, Pardee coached the Washington Redskins, now the Washington Commanders, and the Houston Oilers, now the Tennessee Titans. He faced the Bears three times. Pardee faced the Bears twice in his three-year Washington tenure, and once more with the Oilers. His lone win vs. the Bears was a 24-7 win in the 1992 season at the Houston Astrodome.

Dave Wannstedt: 1-0 vs. the Bears

The head coach better known as "Wanny" took over the Bears after the franchise moved on from Mike Ditka. Wannstedt had two winning seasons in Chicago before the Bears moved on after the 1998 season.

After that, Wannstedt was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. He faced the Bears once: a 27-9 win over Chicago in the 2002 season in Miami.

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - FEBRUARY 15: Dave Toub and Matt Nagy celebrate on stage during the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl LVII victory parade on February 15, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images)

Matt Nagy: 1-0 vs. the Bears

It's not a stretch to say the last time the Bears had any kind of shot at a Super Bowl was when Nagy was on the sidelines. Nagy led the Bears to their last NFC North title in 2018, but never recovered after the Double Doink in the NFC Wild Card round vs. the Eagles.

Nagy welcomed the Bears to his new digs when Chicago visited the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2023 season. The Chiefs pummeled the Bears 41-10 in what many remember as the first Chiefs game attended by Taylor Swift.

Lovie Smith: 0-3 vs. the Bears

Lovie Smith was the best coach the Bears have had in the past two decades. He led the Bears to two NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl while having a defense that featured multiple Hall of Famers. After his Bears' tenure, however, he didn't fare well against the Monster of the Midway.

Smith is winless vs. the Bears. He faced them three times as an opposing head coach: two times with Tampa Bay and once more with the Houston Texans. Smith faced the Bears twice in his two seasons with Tampa Bay, losing 21-13 at Soldier Field and 26-21 in Tampa Bay. The Bears hosted Smith again when Smith coached the Texans in his one and only season in Houston. The Bears won that game 23-20 on a game-winning field goal by Cairo Santos following a late fourth quarter interception by Roquan Smith.

Dick Jauron: 2-3 vs. the Bears

The one former coach who has faced the Bears more than any other is Jauron, who has the distinction of joining Smith, Ditka and George Halas as the only Bears coach to earn 13 wins or more in a single season.

Jauron was fired after a 7-9 season in 2003, and was hired as the Detroit Lions' defensive coordinator in 2004. His Lions defenses earned two wins against the Bears in three seasons. Jauron faced the Bears as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills in 2006, but the Bears clobbered his Bills 40-7.

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