Matt Eberflus gets to work on developing players…

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Monday is the first day that NFL teams with new head coaches are permitted to start their offseason programs and the Bears are one of four teams that have opted to get the ball rolling.

The start of the program gives head coach Matt Eberflus his first chance to address the team’s players, but he and the rest of the team’s coaches have spent time getting their plans in order well ahead of the first phase of conditioning work. Eberflus shared some of what was discussed while setting the stage for what he hopes to accomplish over the next couple of months.

“I went and sat for 45 minutes to an hour with each coach and talked to them about what’s the plan for each guy because that’s what matters,” Eberflus said, via the team’s website. “You develop the players this time of year. Where’s this guy at in his skill set and where does he need to be in nine weeks? And I’ll meet with them at the end, too. I always talk to them during the course of the [program]. But first week to nine weeks, what does it look like? How do we improve? What were the drills we did to help that player? What do we do in practice [and] meetings and all that to help him develop his skill set?”

Eberflus has said he’s looking for quarterback Justin Fields to make a big jump in his second season and the coming weeks will factor into that process along with the growth of other players who can make the coach’s first year in Chicago a successful one.