Bears sack head coach Matt Eberflus after Thanksgiving Day loss in first-ever midseason firing
After a disastrous ending in Thursday’s loss to the Detroit Lions, the Chicago Bears have fired head coach Matt Eberflus after just three seasons.
Eberflus, 54, becomes the first head coach in Bears’ history to ever be fired midseason, according to reports. Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown will take over as interim head coach.
"This morning, after meeting with [chairman] George [H. McCaskey] and [President and CEO] Kevin [Warren], we informed Matt of our decision to move in a different direction with the leadership of our football team and the head-coaching position," Bears general manager Ryan Poles said in a statement. "I thank Matt for his hard work, professionalism and dedication to our organization. We extend our gratitude for his commitment to the Chicago Bears and wish him and his family the best moving forward."
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"I support Ryan and the decision that was made this morning. We understand how imperative the head-coaching role is for building and maintaining a championship-caliber team, leading our players and our organization," Warren added. "Our fans have stood by us and persevered through every challenge, and they deserve better results. Our organizational and operational structure is strong, focused, aligned and energized for the future."
Friday’s announcement came shortly after Eberflus spoke with reporters on Friday where he indicated that he expected to remain with the team despite the Bears’ brutal loss to the Lions on Thanksgiving Day, adding that he was focused on preparing for the team’s Week 14 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.
"I'm just going to be working on finishing up this game, doing a good job of evaluating that, our after-action report like we always do," he said, via NFL.com. "And then I'll be working into San Francisco. Again, those are conversations we'll have, and again I'm confident I'll be working on to San Francisco and getting ready for that game."
Eberflus, coaching in his third season with the team, faced harsh criticism after the Bears seemingly blew a chance to tie the Lions in the final seconds of Thursday afternoon’s game.
On third down with around 30 seconds remaining and one time out, quarterback Caleb Williams launched an overthrown bowl to wide receiver Rome Odunze. Time expired with the score at 23-20, handing the Lions their first victory on Thanksgiving since 2016.
But Eberflus was questioned over his poor clock management, specifically why a timeout wasn’t called when Williams was sacked on the previous play.
"I like what we did there. Once it's under 12 [seconds], you really don't have an option . . . I think we handled it the right way. . . . Didn't work out the way we wanted to," Eberflus said after the game.
But ownership seemingly disagreed.
Eberflus leaves the Bears with a 14-32 record, and Chicago becomes the third NFL team this season to fire a head coach.
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