According to Bears Fire report by Matt Eberflus

The Chicago Bears did something they had never done before in 105 NFL seasons and fired their head coach during the season.

According to sources, Matt Eberflus was fired and management made the decision just hours after he met with the media to explain what happened during Thursday’s loss.

The team announced its decision Friday morning following a debacle late in Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day loss to the Detroit Lions. The Bears called a timeout down 23-20 and took over the ball at the Lions’ 41-yard line on third down as time expired.

Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown will serve as interim coach.

“This morning, after meeting with George and Kevin, we informed Matt of our decision to move in a different direction regarding the leadership of our football team and the head coaching position,” Bears general manager Ryan Poels said in a statement released by the team. “I thank Matt for his hard work, professionalism and dedication to our organization. We express our gratitude for his commitment to the Chicago Bears and wish him and his family the best moving forward.”

They also sent out a statement from the Poles’ boss, President Kevin Warren.

“I support Ryan and the decision that was made this morning,” Warren said. “We understand how important the head coach’s role is in building and maintaining a championship-caliber team, leading our players and our organization.

“Our fans supported us and persevered through all the difficulties, and they deserve better results. Our organizational and operational structure is strong, focused, aligned and energized for the future.”

The crash late in Thursday’s game led to gunfire. Defensive back Caleb Williams pulled the sack out of bounds to throw and the clock was running. The Bears didn’t take advantage of their final timeout to regroup, and then Williams compounded the problem by changing the play at the line of scrimmage, taking up more time. He threw long and incomplete because he had no other options but a timeout.
The Bears nearly overcame a 16-0 halftime deficit and were in position to actually score the winning points when Williams threw a short pass to Keenan Allen that would have reached the end zone. A 10-yard penalty to Teven Jenkins followed as he knocked the helmet off a Lions defender and moved the ball from the 25 to the 35, but still within field goal range.

Eberflus finished with a record of 14-32 and 3-19 in road games. The Bears haven’t won on the road since Nov. 27, 2023, and look set to end that streak. He had a 5–19 record in one-score games.

Only Abe Gibron (.274, 11-30-1, 1972-74) and John Fox (.292, 14-34, 2015-17) had worse winning percentages than Eberflus (.304).

The loss peaked on Thursday, ending a string of tough losses.

The Bears lost on a Hail Mary pass to Washington on Oct. 27 and then three games ago on a blocked field goal against Green Bay. They lost to the Vikings in overtime in the game when they had another field goal blocked, overcoming an 11-point deficit to tie the game in the final 30 seconds. Then they lost on Thursday, missing a chance to snap Detroit’s nine-game winning streak.

The Bears have lost six straight, the second-longest losing streak under Eberflus. They have lost 14 straight in 2022-23 under Eberflus, who was hired by GM Ryan Poels.

Pole had just been hired for 2022 when he was given a choice of three candidates from team chairman George McCaskey, former team president Ted Phillips and recruiting adviser former NFL executive Bill Polian. Other candidates included former Lions and Colts coach Jim Caldwell and current Commanders coach Dan Quinn.

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