Matt Eberflus fired as Chicago Bears head coach, team announces

History has been made, as the Chicago Bears on Friday fired head coach Matt Eberflus with five games remaining in the regular season.

The team confirmed the news shortly after reports broke, and just after Eberflus spoke to media reporters for a press conference Friday morning.

“This morning, after meeting with George and Kevin, we informed Matt of our decision to move in a different direction with the leadership of our football team and the head coaching position,” Chicago 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,” said Poles.

The team announced that Thomas Brown, who recently became the offensive coordinator following Shane Waldron's firing, would be "elevated" to interim head coach.

“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. 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,” Chicago Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren said in a statement.

The firing of Eberflus marks the first time in Bears’ franchise history that the team has parted ways with a head coach during the season, and marks the end to one of the most controversial tenures in the history of the organization.

Eberflus’ tenure came to an end after another devastating loss on Thursday against the Detroit Lions, the team’s sixth in a row after starting the season with a 4-2 record.

This loss came as the Bears floundered on the field in the closing seconds, with Eberflus not calling a timeout and the team only executing one play in the final 36 seconds of action to squander a chance to score a dramatic comeback win over the top team in the NFC.

Eberflus’ record in one-score games dropped to 5-19 during his tenure in Chicago, with his mark the worst in NFL history among coaches with at least 20 one-score games in their careers.

Overall, Eberflus finished his Bears tenure with a record of 14-32, good for the third-worst winning percentage in Bears history behind Abe Gibron and John Fox.

The Bears hired Eberflus after his run as defensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts, bringing him in prior to the 2022 season as a replacement for Matt Nagy, who went 6-11 in his final season at the helm but led the Bears to two playoff appearances.

Eberflus was unable to match that success, winning just three games in his first season and seven in his second.

With new offensive and defensive coordinators in place, Eberflus and the Bears began the season with a 4-2 record, but things deteriorated quickly beginning with a Hail Mary loss to the Washington Commanders.

As the season wore on, the rough losses piled up, including a blocked field goal against the Green Bay Packers and an overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings, both of which came after the Bears had fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, the first time they’d ever fired a coordinator midseason in franchise history.

All the while, Eberflus faced mounting criticism for his late-game decision-making. His choice not to call a timeout prior to the Commanders’ Hail Mary win, the cautious approach to setting up a 47-yard field goal for Cairo Santos against the Packers, and the team’s overtime struggles against the Vikings set the stage for Thursday’s blow-up, which saw the Bears cough up a chance at a victory in incredible fashion.

After quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked with 36 seconds to go, the Bears apparently had difficulties getting the next play called into their quarterback, and Eberflus elected not to use the team’s final timeout to sort things out. Instead, Williams was forced into a de facto Hail Mary attempt, which fell incomplete onto the turf at Ford Field.

Eberflus defended the decision after the game ended, but he was roundly excoriated by members of the media, and the sequence was questioned by several players in the locker room after a lengthy closed-door meeting.

Now, the Bears will look to show progress in a number of areas over the season’s final five weeks, which will resume with a trip to the Bay Area to take on the San Francisco 49ers on Dec. 8.

Key to all of it will be the development of Williams, who has seemingly found his stride under acting offensive coordinator Thomas Brown. Williams has set several Bears rookie records in recent weeks, and will look to continue that progress as the Bears face matchups with the 49ers, Seahawks, Lions, Vikings and Packers to conclude the year.

Also undecided is the future of general manager Ryan Poles, who stuck with Eberflus as head coach this season despite a series of rough losses in the 2023 season. That decision, along with the struggles of both the offensive and defensive lines this season, have left Poles facing strong criticism for not putting his rookie quarterback in a position to succeed.