As part of a vigorous vote of confidence in coach Matt Eberflus, Bears general manager Ryan Poles supported Eberflus’ vetting of his assistant coaches in the wake of running backs coach David Walker’s firing, which followed the resignation of defensive coordinator Alan Williams in September.
‘‘He has high integrity,’’ Poles said of Eberflus. ‘‘The people he brings in here, he’s done the work to make sure that they’re the people they’re supposed to be. We hold that standard. If it doesn’t follow that and people aren’t acting that way, they’re not here.’’
But the transgressions committed by Williams and Walker still reflect poorly on Eberflus because both actions showed a lack of respect for their boss. Just as coaches aim to command respect from their players as a means of getting the most out of them, the same dynamic is in place for the assistants they hire. That respect should compel those assistants to do the right thing because everything they do reflects on the man who hired them. Whether it was a vetting issue or not, Eberflus has to take the ‘‘L’’ for both of them.