How Matt Eberflus and the players reacted to the Chicago Bears going on 'Hard Knocks'
LAKE FOREST, Ill. - We're 100 days away from the 2024 Chicago Bears season. That's a season that's already inspired new hope and excitement from within the franchise to the fan base.
Before that season kicks off, the excitement and hope that will flow through training camp will be shown off on "Hard Knocks."
Bears coach Matt Eberflus said Friday he doesn't see that as a negative in his mind.
"We had a real positive attitude about it and we know that we had good people in the building and our message was going to be, who we are and how we operate," Eberflus said. "No one changes how they act. No one changes what they do. We just focus on our job."
"Hard Knocks" during the Bears training camp will undoubtedly have a focus on rookie quarterback and first overall pick Caleb Williams.
His growth within the Bears organization and system will be what the franchise and viewers want to see as the assumed franchise quarterback the Bears have never had will be documented weekly.
It will also go beyond Williams, too. Eberflus noted this, and he's excited for the spotlight to be on other players.
"They're going to have the special interest stories that they do, which I think there are some of them are pretty good with different things," Eberflus said. "We have a lot of them here in this building."
It goes beyond the players, too. Bears assistant defensive coach Travis Smith said the notorious coaches are also noticed, too. Smith was a part of "Hard Knocks" as a member of the Raiders staff.
"We went to go play in London," Smith said. "You have people recognize them as they're walking down the street."
The players are at the center of "Hard Knocks," and new Bears running back D'Andre Swift knows this. He participated in "Hard Knocks" when was with the Lions.
Swift said he was excited for the Bears team and the Bears fan base.
"It's exciting," Swift said. "First and foremost."
Still, one of the biggest attractions for NFL fans is the drama that comes from building a roster. Players get traded and cut, which adds an element of shock depending on how those players are viewed by the fans.
Not all of those conversations are aired.
"You have some hard conversations sometimes in the building," Eberflus said. "Those have to be done in private."
Still, Eberflus, who knows how "Hard Knocks" operates from his time in Indianapolis, knows that any hyper-sensitive or personal material won't make it out on the air.
The Bears can still veto what goes out.
"Everybody who goes in hard knocks has editing rights to what goes in and out and all those things, and that's standard," Eberflus said. "We have a good plan."
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