49ers hiring former Cowboys DC Matt Eberflus to replace Gus Bradley
49ers hiring former Cowboys DC Matt Eberflus to replace Gus Bradley
Jacob Camenker, USA TODAY Thu, March 5, 2026 at 9:11 PM UTC
0
The San Francisco 49ers are adding an experienced defensive mind to their coaching staff for the 2026 NFL season.
The 49ers are hiring former Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus to serve as the team's assistant head coach of defense, according to NFL Media's Tom Pelissero.
Eberflus' hiring comes after the 49ers lost a couple of high-profile defensive coaches during the 2026 NFL offseason. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh was hired to coach the Tennessee Titans; he then took former Jacksonville Jaguars coach Gus Bradley – who spent the 2025 season as San Francisco's assistant head coach of defense – along to be his defensive coordinator.
1 / 0NFL mock draft: First-round projection after Trent McDuffie trade1. Las Vegas Raiders – Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
Eberflus will assume the post vacated by Bradley. He will work alongside 49ers defensive coordinator Raheem Morris – who previously coached the Atlanta Falcons – to improve a San Francisco stop unit that ranked 25th in defensive EPA per play in 2025, per the NFL's Next Gen Stats, and recorded a league-low 20 sacks.
Advertisement
Eberflus is joining the 49ers after a one-year stint with the Cowboys. The 55-year-old's stop unit struggled during his lone season in that role, allowing a league-worst 30.1 points per game, ranking dead last in defensive EPA per play and leading to his firing at season's end.
Prior to his stopover in Dallas, Eberflus spent parts of three seasons as the Chicago Bears' coach. He posted just a 14-32 record across 46 games before being fired after a Thanksgiving loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 13 of the 2024 NFL season. He made ignominious history as the first Bears head coach to ever be fired in-season.
Before joining the Bears, Eberflus enjoyed a solid stint with the Indianapolis Colts. He coached three top-10 scoring defenses across four seasons, while his opportunistic units always ranked top 10 in takeaways.
The 49ers will be hoping that version of Eberflus shows up to help fill the holes left by the departures of Saleh and Bradley.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ex-Cowboys DC Matt Eberflus joining 49ers coaching staff
Source: “AOL Sports”
