When newly hired general manager Ryan Poles introduced Matt Eberflus as the 17th head coach of the Bears at the news conference held for the two of them in January, the room went silent — just the sound of camera shutters — as Eberflus stepped to the dais in the George ‘‘Mugs’’ Halas Auditorium.
‘‘No applause, huh?’’ Eberflus said.
Not here. As he walked to the stage, Eberflus entered a new world. He wasn’t being named the defensive coordinator at Missouri, the linebackers coach of the Cowboys or the defensive coordinator of the Colts. This was the biggest job of his life — one of the biggest jobs in any coach’s life.