One of the blue blood franchises of the NFL is embarking on something they have never done before. There is a first time for everything, and this decision was long overdue. For the first time in the 104-year history of the Chicago Bears, the franchise has fired a head coach in the middle of a season.
Prior to 2024, the Bears had never parted ways with a coach during a season, a fact they stood behind and were proud of. They have also never gone through some of the late-game coaching malpractice they have experienced this season, especially what happened on Thanksgiving with the whole world tuned in.
The only time a coach left with games left on the schedule was the patriarch himself, George ‘Papa Bear’ Halas when he served in World War II.
Matt Eberflus will take a final timeout as a parting gift from the Bears 23-20 loss against the Detroit Lions into his next job. A last-minute debacle of epic proportions, in which the Bears let about 25 seconds run off the clock instead of calling a timeout, was the end of the Bears’ patience. Eberflus met with reporters Friday morning and was let go shortly after, according to multiple reports.
“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 released Friday afternoon. “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.”
“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 in the team’s statement.
“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.”
Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown will take over for the rest of the season, according to numerous reports.
The Bears had some dramatic losses that were capped by head-scratching coaching decisions, including the Lions loss and a Hail Mary loss to the Washington Commanders. First overall pick Caleb Williams out of USC, struggled for the first half of his rookie season before offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was fired and the Bears were quickly out of playoff contention after going 4-2. Brown was the passing game coordinator prior to Waldron’s dismissal.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Bears will move forward, and their fans’ final and lasting memory of Eberflus will be how his team blew yet another game in the final moments.
Eberflus’ first season ended unceremoniously with a 3-14 record, but he kept his job. The following season started just as bad with many of the same issues, with a 2-7 record. But Eberflus still had the ear of the locker room and was able to rally the troops to win five of their last eight games, which saved his job. It was an exciting stretch of football but ultimately turned out to be ‘fool’s gold’, because it meant Eberflus found a way to retain employment another season, much to the chagrin Bears fans everywhere.
The 2024 campaign started off promising with a win over the Tennessee Titans. They were 4-2 at the bye, though some inferior opponents helped. After the bye it got ugly. Williams started to hit a rookie wall. The Bears lost to the Commanders on a Hail Mary, which came after the Bears gave up just enough yards to get Washington in range for the long throw, a decision that Eberflus said “doesn’t really matter.” Two weeks later, the Bears were in position to beat their nemesis, the Green Bay Packers but settled for a 46-yard field goal attempt that was blocked. The Packers said they knew kicker Cairo Santos had a low trajectory on his kicks, which gave them the opportunity at blocking the last attempt. Eberflus doubled down on that decision to not try and get closer.
An overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings gave false hope that perhaps the Bears were getting a little better, but the stunning loss to the Lions erased that thought.
On Thanksgiving, the Bears fought back from a 16-0 halftime deficit and trailed 23-20 in the final minute. A sack with about 30 seconds to go, set the Bears back, and then chaos erupted. Williams looked like a deer in headlights and a confused rookie trying to get the team lined up. The snap did not come until six seconds were left. Williams threw deep and incomplete, after the clock was expired. The Bears had a timeout left in their pocket but did not use it.
You will not find many NFL teams blow the end of a game as badly as that.
The Bears’ situation is not a bad one. The bar for success is low. Chicago has not qualified for the playoffs in 12 of the past 14 seasons. They have not won a playoff game since the end of the 2010 season. But the roster is full of young talent, and Williams has shown enough potential that a good coaching candidate can see the upside in working with him.
After the Bears made the wrong decision to go with a defensive-minded coach in Eberflus when the rest of the league was hiring young, innovative offensive minds, it seems like a sure thing that the Bears’ next coach will have an offensive background.
Bears’ brass will get a head start on vetting candidates, but there is sure to be one name atop the fans’ wish list: Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
There are reasons for optimism to believe the Bears have brighter days in their future, which would be nice for a franchise that has not won a Super Bowl since 1985 under Mike Ditka. Eberflus was obviously not the right man for the job, and it took the Bears an extra year to come to their senses.
In a spotlight game on Thanksgiving, Eberflus’ time ran out.