At sunny Goodison Park, chatter about former manager David Moyes cast a long shadow over Sean Dyche as the Everton boss came to terms with an astonishing late collapse.
Throwing away a 2-0 lead in the 87th minute to lose 3-2 had never happened in the Premier League before, and felt more devastating as it left Everton heading into the international break without a point.
Moyes, who took Everton into the top four and to the FA Cup final, is available after leaving West Ham and is based in the North West.
It only adds to the pressure on Dyche, whose reputation for building organised and disciplined teams was at odds with the chaos of the final few minutes on Saturday.
After Michael Keane and Dominic Calvert-Lewin had given the home side a deserved two-goal cushion, Antoine Semenyo initiated the Bournemouth comeback before Lewis Cook and Luis Sinisterra finished the job.