LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The NFL released a sneak peek of Tuesday’s “Hard Knocks” season premiere by publishing a short video of Bears head coach Matt Eberflus chatting with legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban. In the clip, Saban shares his thoughts about why the failure rate for quarterbacks is so high in the NFL and how that relates to No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams.
Take a look:
“To me, expectations are a killer,” Saban said in the video. “This kid you got, this kid’s got so much media, so much hype, so much expectation on doing well, and he has to develop so quickly to meet the expectations that everybody has for him, it’s almost impossible. The expectations are a killer.
“But yet, to use your word, development is the key for him.”
Saban then points to Peyton Manning’s NFL-record 28 interceptions as a rookie. Of course Manning was able to push through that awful debut to become one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time with two Super Bowl titles and five MVP awards to his name.
Eberflus considers Saban one of his biggest mentors, as Saban was the head coach at Toledo in 1990 when Eberflus was the team’s top linebacker. The two have kept in touch ever since.
Chicago Bears
Saban visited with Eberflus for nearly two and a half hours, and their conversation ranged from leadership, to the rhythm of training camp, and quarterback development. Saban oversaw the growth of Tua Tagovailoa, Jalen Hurts, Mac Jones and Bryce Young at Alabama and won several national championships and SEC titles with that group.
“I gleaned a lot of information and a lot of wisdom from him,” Eberflus said. “It was great to see him.”
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“Hard Knocks” is an HBO/NFL Films joint production that will follow the Bears throughout training camp and the preseason this year. It debuts on Tuesday night at 8 p.m.
