Bears fire Eberflus after six games and name Brown interim coach

CHICAGO – The Bears fired head coach Matt Eberflus on Friday, deciding to have a “different one” a day after a 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions that ended with the Bears’ furious comeback attempt failing due to time mismanagement “direction”.

“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 the leadership of our football team and the head coaching position.” Ryan Poles, General Bears manager said in a statement released Friday afternoon. “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.”

“I support Ryan and the decision made this morning. 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 added in the team’s statement. “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.”

Thomas Brown, recently named Chicago’s interim offensive coordinator, will assume Chicago’s interim head coaching duties as the team prepares for next week’s game with the San Francisco 49ers.

A source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that Brown plans to continue calling the offensive plays in his new role to ensure continuity for rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, whose play has improved since Brown took over three weeks ago .

Eberflus held a press conference via Zoom on Friday morning and said he was confident he would lead the Bears in the future, but hours later he was informed of the team’s decision.

Eberflus’ tenure ended with a six-game losing streak that included a number of last-gasp defeats including:

• An 18-15 road loss to the Washington Commanders in Week 8 that culminated in a 52-yard Hail Mary pass. In an embarrassing twist, Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson turned his back to the receivers running downfield as he tackled and taunted fans on the final play of the game before crossing into coverage.

• A 20-19 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 11, where a blocked 46-yard field goal would have given the Bears the win. It was Cairo Santos’ league-best blocked field goal attempt of the season, and came after the Bears decided not to run an extra play to try to shorten the attempt.

• A 30-27 overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 12 that wiped out a furious fourth-quarter surge.

• Thursday’s loss ended with the Bears having the ball at the Lions’ 41 with 32 seconds left. Instead of calling his final timeout, Eberflus watched as Williams threw a long pass out of reach of Rome Odunze as time expired.

The losing streak coincided with a dramatic improvement by Williams, who has thrown 232 passes without an interception, the longest streak for a rookie in NFL history. He has thrown five touchdowns without a pick in the past two weeks, and the next coach will be tasked with continuing the development of this year’s No. 1 draft pick.

Eberflus defended his watch management on Sunday. Williams was sacked with 32 seconds left and the Bears trailed by three points, and 26 seconds elapsed before the Bears played their final play.

Realizing Chicago wouldn’t have time to make another play after the ball was snapped with six seconds left, Williams changed the play and threw the deep ball toward Odunze.

Eberflus said he was trying to preserve the final timeout to set up a potential game-winning field goal after a final play.

“I like what we did there,” Eberflus said. “Again, once it’s under seven (seconds), you’re going to call a timeout there – actually under 12, and then you really have no choice because it’s third (down) to fourth, you have to throw it in.” then the end zone.

“For me it’s like – I think we handled it right. I do believe that you just restart the game, put it in bounds and call for a timeout, and that’s why we held it and it didn’t work out the way we wanted. “Too.”

Chicago has lost six one-score games in 2024, putting Eberflus’ career record in one-score games at 5-19. This is the worst record by a coach with at least 20 such games in NFL history.

Eberflus compiled a 14-32 record in nearly three seasons after being hired on January 27, 2022, two days after general manager Ryan Poles was hired. Eberflus’ winning percentage of .304 in 46 games is the third-worst in franchise history, behind John Fox (.292) and Abe Gibron (.274). He is the first head coach in team history to be fired during the season.

Heading into the 2024 offseason, the Bears opted to retain Eberflus despite him going 10-24 in his first two seasons. Poles, who made the decision, said he did so because of the coach’s leadership and stability.

“I really believe that the head coach needs to be able to run the ship when the seas are rough or when the seas are stormy and really make sure everything is taken care of,” Poles said in January. “When you go through tough times and he can hold everyone together, that’s the crucial part for me.”

There were many storms to endure, especially among the coaching staff. Eberflus fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron before Week 11 and replaced him with Thomas Brown. Waldron was the second offensive coordinator Eberflus fired in the same year, after Luke Getsy and four offensive coaches were fired in January.

In two seasons, Eberflus fired eight coaches.

Eberflus, 54, was hired by the Bears after four seasons as the Indianapolis Colts’ defensive coordinator, where his defense ranked in the top 10 in scoring three times, including ninth in 2021 with 21.5 points per game. He took over a team that was 6-11 in 2021 before his arrival. Chicago has missed the postseason in 12 of its last 14 seasons.

After taking over the Bears’ defensive playcalling duties two games into the 2023 season due to the sudden resignation of former defensive coordinator Alan Williams, Eberflus’ unit became one of the best in Chicago’s 7-10 finish last season NFL. The Bears had the NFL’s best run defense and ranked 12th in total yards. Chicago tied for first with the 49ers with 22 interceptions.

But since Chicago’s losing streak began in Week 8, the Bears’ defense has taken a significant step backwards. The unit ranks 30th in yards per rush allowed (5.1) and rushing yards allowed per game (158.2), 31st in yards allowed per game (397.0), 30th. Ranked 26th in explosive plays allowed per game (8.3) and 26th in total opponent QBR