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Courtney Cronin, ESPN writer
CHICAGO — The Bears fired head coach Matt Eberflus on Friday, choosing to go in a “different direction” a day after a 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions that ended with the Bears’ furious comeback attempt failing thanks to poor clock management.
“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 in the future.”
“I support Ryan and the decision that was made this morning. We understand how imperative the role of head coach is to build and maintain a championship-caliber team, leading our players and our organization,” Warren added in the team’s statement. . “Our fans have supported 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.”
Thomas Brown, who was recently named Chicago’s interim offensive coordinator, will assume duties as Chicago’s interim head coach as the team prepares for next week’s matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.
A source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that Brown plans to continue calling offensive plays in his new role in a move designed to provide continuity for rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, whose play has improved since Brown took over as play-caller three years ago. weeks.
Eberflus held a news conference via Zoom on Friday morning and said he was confident in leading the Bears going forward, but hours later, he was informed of the team’s decision.
Eberflus’ tenure ended amid a six-game losing streak that included a series of last-second defeats, including:
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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 had his back turned to receivers running downfield as he faced and taunted fans on the final play before sprinting into coverage.
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A 20-19 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 11 that included a 46-yard blocked field goal that would have led the Bears to victory. It was Cairo Santos’ league-leading third blocked field goal attempt of the season, and it came after the Bears decided not to take an extra play to try to make it a shorter attempt.
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A 30-27 overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 12 that negated a furious fourth-quarter rally.
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Thursday’s loss, which ended with the Bears having the ball at the Lions 41 with 32 seconds left. Instead of calling his final timeout, Eberflus watched Williams throw a long pass out of reach of Rome Odunze as time expired.
The losing streak coincided with a dramatic improvement by Williams, who threw 232 passes without an interception, the longest streak by a rookie in NFL history. He has thrown five touchdowns without a pick in the last two weeks, and the next coach will have the responsibility of continuing the development of the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft.
Eberflus defended his clock management on Sunday. Williams was sacked with 32 seconds left and the Bears trailing by three points, and 26 seconds passed before the Bears ran their final play.
Realizing that Chicago would not have time to run another play after the ball was snapped with six seconds left, Williams changed the play and threw the ball deep to Odunze.
Eberflus said he was trying to preserve the final timeout to set up a potential game-tying field goal after running a final play.
“I like what we did there,” Eberflus said. “Again, once he is under seven [seconds]you’re going to ask for a timeout there; actually, it’s under 12 and then you don’t really have a choice because it’s the third one. [down] to fourth, then you have to throw it into the end zone.
“To me, I think we handled it the right way, I think you just reorganize the play, put it in bounds and call a timeout, and that’s why we held it and it didn’t work out the way we wanted to.”
Chicago has lost six one-score games in 2024, bringing Eberflus’ career record in one-score games to 5-19. That’s the worst record of any coach with at least 20 such games in NFL history.
Eberflus compiled a 14-32 record in nearly three seasons after being hired on Jan. 27, 2022, two days after general manager Ryan Poles was hired. Eberflus’ .304 winning percentage 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.
At the start of the 2024 offseason, the Bears opted to retain Eberflus despite going 10-24 in his first two seasons. The Poles, who made the decision, said they did so because of the coach’s leadership and stability.
“I really think the head coach has to be able to captain the ship when the sea is stormy or when the sea is stormy, and really keep everything in order,” Polacos said in January. “When you go through tough times and he’s able to keep everyone together, to me that’s the critical piece.”
There were a lot of storms to weather, especially with 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 defenses finished in the top 10 in scoring three times, including ninth in 2021 at 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 duties two games into the 2023 season due to the abrupt resignation of former defensive coordinator Alan Williams, Eberflus’ unit became one of the best in the NFL during the NFL’s 7-10 finish. Chicago last season. The Bears had the NFL’s No. 1 run defense and ranked 12th in total yards. Chicago finished tied for first with the 49ers with 22 interceptions.
But since the start of Chicago’s losing streak in Week 8, the Bears defense has taken a significant step back. The unit ranks 30th in rushing yards allowed (5.1) and rushing yards allowed per game (158.2), 31st in yards per game allowed (397.0), 30th in explosive plays allowed per game (8.3) and 26th in total QBR of the opponent.
