The Chicago Bears’ highly underwhelming season took such a disastrous turn on Thanksgiving, a franchise that’s been in existence as long as the NFL (105 seasons) made an unprecedented decision on Black Friday – and will now be shopping for a new leader.
The team fired Matt Eberflus, the first time in club history that it’s made a midseason change at head coach. Thomas Brown, who was recently appointed offensive coordinator after Eberflus dismissed Shane Waldron earlier this month, now takes over the top job as well.
‘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,’ 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.’
The decision follows – arguably – the worst defeat in Chicago’s current six-game losing streak, a 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thursday afternoon. After trailing the NFC leaders 23-7 in the fourth quarter, the Bears fought to cut the gap to 23-20 and were driving for what could have been a game-tying field goal in the final minute.
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But rookie quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked with 33 seconds to go at the Lions’ 41-yard line (just outside the range of kicker Cairo Santos), meaning the clock continued to run – but Eberflus chose not to take a timeout in a rather obvious situation to preserve time. Williams lofted one final pass toward Rome Odunze that fell incomplete as time expired.
“Well I’m the head football coach so I’m taking the blame, of course,’ Eberflus said following the debacle. ‘That’s what you do. So, we didn’t get it done, it starts at the top and it starts right here. So, accountability is right here with me and again, we just have to do it better and I have to do it better, and I was proud of the guys with the way they fought, and they did a good job putting themselves in position.
‘We’re there in the moment, we just have to handle it better. We have to handle it better and we’re right there. Again, there was some penalties there at the end. We were in position to score, we had a hands to the face, I think that was a pretty costly one. Then we just have to do a better job of not taking negative plays. I think it starts right here, it starts with me.”
Eberflus met with reporters Friday morning and thought his job was safe.
‘I’m confident that I’ll be working on the San Francisco and getting ready for that game,’ he said.
Instead, it was curtains for a man who finishes with a 14-32 record in two-plus seasons and never reached the playoffs. Eberflus joins the New York Jets’ Robert Saleh and New Orleans Saints’ Dennis Allen as the third head man fired during the course of the 2024 season.
Despite a season that’s fallen well short of expectations – the Bears, now 4-8, are the only team below .500 in an otherwise hypercompetitive NFC North – their vacant HC job should be a coveted one this offseason. Though Williams, the No. 1 pick of this year’s draft, has had a decent season overall, he hasn’t been consistent – or nearly as impactful as fellow rookie quarterbacks like Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders or Bo Nix of the Denver Broncos. And while Poles put plenty of capable players around Williams – adding wideout Keenan Allen and running D’Andre Swift in free agency and wideout Rome Odunze in Round 1 of the draft (eight picks after Williams – plus a solid defense, their coaching staff clearly wasn’t up to the task of shepherding a first-year signal-caller. The decision not to carry a veteran backup was also a dubious one.
Chicago got off to a solid 4-2 start, Williams seeming to progress past early rookie growing pains. But a loss to the Commanders on Oct. 27, when Daniels connected on a game-ending Hail Mary from 52 yards – while Chicago cornerback Tyrique Stevenson could be seen engaging with Washington fans rather than paying attention to what was happening on the field – led to a tailspin that proved unrecoverable for Eberflus.
Though his elevation has yet to lead to wins, Brown could get a serious look as Eberflus’ permanent replacement. The offense has performed noticeably better since Waldron’s departure, averaging 22 points and 363.3 yards over its past three games.
‘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,’ said Warren.
‘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.’
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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter, @ByNateDavis.