However, the hiring is a surprise given that several other names were previously linked to the Bears' vacancy prior to the announcement of Eberflus' hiring.

Chicago is the second NFL franchise to fill its head coaching opening this offseason, following the Denver Broncos' reported hiring of Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett on Thursday.

The Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, Houston Texans and New Orleans Saints -- following Sean Payton's retirement announcement earlier this week -- all still have coaching vacancies as of Thursday morning.

The Bears also hired former Kansas City Chiefs director of player personnel Ryan Poles as their general manager this week ahead of the coaching hire.

Poles, 36, was also reportedly in the second interview stage with the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings for their respective general manager positions prior to accepting Chicago's offer.

Poles spent the past 13 season working in the Chiefs' front office, having initially joined the franchise as a player personnel assistant in 2009.

The 36-year-old severed as director of college scouting in 2017 and assistant director of player personnel from 2018-10 before being promoted to executive director of player personnel in 2021.

The Chiefs are scheduled to appear in their fourth consecutive AFC Championship Game this week and would earn their third consecutive Super Bowl berth with a victory against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday (January 30).

Former Bears general manager Ryan Pace was fired on January 10, the same day as former head coach Matt Nagy.