The Chicago Bears’ 20:23 defeat on Thursday was head coach Matt Eberflus’ undoing. The 54-year-old was released on Friday, as several media outlets consistently reported. Confirmation followed shortly afterwards. According to ESPN reporter Adam Schefter, it is the first in-season head coach firing in the Bears’ 100-plus-year history.
The bankruptcy on Thanksgiving was not only the sixth in a row for Chicago, but also once again a close one with a lot of drama shortly before the end. The Bears were within field goal range to tie the game with seconds left before quarterback Caleb Williams was brought down. Instead of taking the final timeout, Eberflus let time run down and Chicago was only able to make one more play that yielded nothing – after that the game was over and the chance for extra time was carelessly wasted.
“I think we did enough as players to win the game,” wide receiver Keenan Allen said meaningfully afterwards. These and other statements from the players made it clear that Eberflus, who had been criticized for a long time and was considered a candidate for dismissal, no longer had much credit in the dressing room.
On Friday morning (local time) Eberflus gave a press conference and emphasized that everything was normal and that he was preparing for the upcoming game against San Francisco. He was released shortly afterwards. Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown will take over on an interim basis.
