Chicago Bears release Matt Eberflus after disastrous Thanksgiving loss

CNN
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The Chicago Bears fired head coach Matt Eberflus following the team’s disastrous Thanksgiving Day loss to the Detroit Lions, extending their losing streak to six games.

“After meeting with (Chairman) George (H. McCaskey) and (President and CEO) Kevin (Warren), we informed Matt this morning of our decision to move in a different direction with our football team leadership and board of directors. coaching position,” Bears general manager Ryan Poles said in a statement. “I would like to thank Matt for his hard work, professionalism and commitment to our organization. We thank him for his commitment to the Chicago Bears and wish him and his family all the best for the future.”

Warren added that he supported the Poles’ decision to let go of the 54-year-old.

“We understand how important the role of head coach is in building and maintaining a championship-caliber team that leads our players and our organization,” Warren continued. “Our fans have stood by us and overcome every challenge and they deserve better results. Our organizational and operating structure is strong, focused, aligned and energized for the future.”

It is the first time in the franchise’s more than 100-year history that a coach has been fired midway through the season.

Shortly before his firing on Friday, Eberflus met with reporters and said he was “confident” he would coach the team in their Week 14 road game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Eberflus was hired before the 2022 NFL season and led the team to a 14-32 record in his nearly three years as coach, including a 4-8 record this season.

The firing came a day after Eberflus’ time management ended up damaging Chicago as they tried to mount a late comeback against the Lions in the first Thanksgiving game of the day and fell 23-20 in the Motor City.

With 32 seconds left in the game and one timeout remaining, the Bears needed a field goal to force overtime. Instead, Eberflus watched the seconds tick by without calling a timeout, and the Bears only managed to reach a playoff before time expired.

After the game’s disastrous end, Eberflus said he “takes the blame” but defended his handling of the situation.

“I like what we did there,” Eberflus said. “Again, once it’s under 12 (seconds) there, you’re going to take a timeout there, you have no choice. … In my opinion we handled it correctly. I do believe that you restart the play, put the ball in play and then call a timeout. That’s why we held it and it didn’t work out the way we wanted.”

Thomas Brown will serve as the team’s interim head coach. Earlier this month, Brown was named offensive coordinator following the firing of Shane Waldron.