Bears fire Matt Eberflus after 4-8 start to season; Thomas Brown named interim head coach

Eberflus met with reporters Friday morning and expressed confidence that he will take the helm in Week 14. About two hours later, he’s out after less than three full seasons.

The firing marks the first time in the Bears’ franchise history that they have parted ways with a coach midseason.

Eberflus ends his tenure in Chicago with a record of 14-32. He began each of his three seasons with four or fewer wins through Week 12.

There were calls in Chicago to move on from Eberflus in the offseason, giving rookie quarterback Caleb Williams a clean slate to develop. Instead, the Bears stuck with their head coach, who hired new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.

Despite improved weapons, the offense had a rocky start to the season. Chicago fired Waldron after Week 10 and promoted Brown from passing game coordinator to game manager. The change gave the offense a boost, but Eberflus’ defense, which was the backbone of the team, deteriorated.

After a bye in Week 7, the Bears lost six games with some glaring coaching errors. First there was a Hail Mary against Washington in Week 8, a dismal home performance against New England, and a blocked field goal in a loss against rival Green Bay in Week 11. Thursday’s debacle was the icing on the cake. With a timeout in the bag, Eberflus watched his rookie quarterback burn through too much time after a sack with 32 seconds left. Instead of getting at least one game-winning field goal attempt, Chicago wasted the rest of the time with a desperate attempt that fell incomplete.

Eberflus’ term of office ends incompletely.

Although the midseason firing is a first for the Bears, the situation the team finds itself in is not new: Williams will be Chicago’s third straight first-round quarterback in his second season under a different head coach than his first plays, after following in the footsteps of Mitchell Trubisky (John Fox) and Justin Fields (Matt Nagy).

Brown will now be tasked with guiding Chicago through the final five weeks before the Bears leadership determines the best coach for Williams’ future.