Matt Eberflus did at least one good thing for Bears no one has thought about

There's not a lot of good that came out of the Matt Eberflus era as head coach of the Chicago Bears, but there are snippets of things fans can be thankful for.

Not many coaches on the staff stayed on when Ben Johnson got the Bears' head coach job after Eberflus was fired. One of the few who did stay on was tight ends coach Jim Dray, and that decision by Johnson has certainly paid off.

Colston Loveland became a household name and led the Bears in receiving yards and touchdowns last season, and Cole Kmet is still playing at a high level in 2025. The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue recognized the work that Dray did last year and named him as the Bears' breakout candidate in 2026.

"Other than the quarterback, Bears coach Ben Johnson has made it clear that tight end is the most important element of his layered, explosive offensive system. That especially highlights Dray, whom Johnson retained from the Matt Eberflus-era staff. Dray will be coaching one of the most talented position rooms in the NFL, featuring Cole Kmet, Colston Loveland and rookie third-rounder Sam Roush."

Jim Dray might become more than just the tight ends coach at this rate

Dray has had a good start to his coaching career after being a long-time NFL tight end. He played from 2010 through 2017 with four teams, posting 56 receptions for 605 yards and three touchdowns.

His coaching career began at Stanford in 2018 and continued there until 2022, when Eberflus brought him on to the Bears' staff as the tight ends coach. Dray was responsible for Kmet having the best season of his career in 2023 with 719 yards and six touchdowns, landing him a nice contract extension.

In his first season under Johnson, Dray had Loveland go for 713 yards and six touchdowns to lead the Bears in both categories. Kmet still went for 347 yards and two touchdowns, as both tight ends made clutch plays, including Loveland's game-winning touchdown in Week 9 against the Cincinnati Bengals and Kmet caught the game-tying score to force overtime in the NFC Divisional Round game against the Los Angeles Rams.

This season, Dray has a bigger task of developing Roush into an eventual backup for the Bears, replacing Kmet. If Roush can show he can catch and block, Chicago will have a dangerous tight end room in 2026.

Read more: These Bears players are in for a rude awakening at training camp

Bears fans can at least be appreciative of Eberflus hiring Dray because he has been a great coach in Chicago for years.

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This article was originally published on beargoggleson.com as Matt Eberflus did at least one good thing for Bears no one has thought about.