By Rob Maaddi and Andrew Seligman, Associated Press
Chicago The Chicago Bears dismissed Matt Eberflus a day after he messed up a timeout during a Detroit loss.
The Bears announced in a statement that offensive coordinator Thomas Brown would take over as temporary coach.
“We told Matt this morning that we decided to take a different approach with our football team’s leadership and head coaching position,” Bears general manager Ryan Poles stated. I appreciate Matt’s diligence, professionalism, and commitment to our company. We are appreciative of his dedication to the Chicago Bears and wish him and his family the very best in their future endeavors.
The Bears, who dropped to 4-8 with their sixth consecutive defeat on Thursday, have a record of 14-32 in Eberflus’ two or more seasons.
After an offensive makeover, the Bears started the season with a playoff berth in mind, but they are currently last in the NFC North. One of the poorest records in the founding NFL franchise’s history is Eberflus’ 14-31 record in 2 1/2 seasons. Abe Gibron (11-30-1 from 1972-74) and John Fox (14-34 from 2015-17) were the two Chicago coaches with lower grades.
After going a combined 10-24 in their first two seasons under Eberflus and Poles, the Bears believed they were in a position to advance in the NFC North. They redesigned their offense by acquiring six-time Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen from the Los Angeles Chargers and selecting Caleb Williams with the first overall pick.
However, the Bears end themselves in a familiar location near the bottom of the division rather than climbing. A few of their skid losses were decided by the last play.
In fact, the Bears had a 4-2 record and three consecutive victories going into their bye. From there, they fell apart, with every defeat casting more doubt on Eberflus’ control of the locker room and game management.
With a defeat against Washington on a Hail Mary touchdown by Jayden Daniels in Week 8, things began to fall apart.Some of the coaching choices made during that game were openly questioned by the Bears players.
The next week, the Bears were humiliated by New England in a 19-3 home loss and thrashed in Arizona. In that game, Williams was sacked nine times, a career best.
Two days later, the Bears replaced offensive coordinator Shane Waldron with Brown after firing Waldron. The Bears fired an offensive coordinator for the second time in ten months.
Luke Getsy was replaced in January by Waldron, who played just nine games. At the time, Brown did in fact interview for the position of offensive coordinator.
When Cairo Santos’ 46-yard field goal attempt as time ran out at Green Bayat Soldier Field in Week 11, the Bears suffered yet another heartbreaking defeat.Instead of trying to run another play to lessen the distance on the kick, Eberflus chose to let the clock tick down. Even though Santos loves to kick extra points from the right hash, the Bears made him try to hit the game-winning shot from the left hash.
The next week, in an overtime loss to Minnesota, Eberflus’ game management once more caused problems. When the team was behind 17-10 in the third quarter and facing fourth-and-4 from the Minnesota 27-yard line, there was a communication breakdown this time.
Thinking Chicago would try a field goal, Santos and long snapper Scott Daly raced onto the field, but a lineman waved them off because the Bears were going for it.
Williams arrived late to the huddle and rushed to snap the ball to avoid a delay-of-game penalty before throwing an incomplete pass, which resulted in a chaotic scene. Eberflus accepted responsibility for the misunderstanding, claiming that he failed to adequately convey his intention to go for it on fourth down in the prior play.
The Bears’ losing run reached six games on Thanksgiving due to bad clock management on their last drive.
A sack and poor clock management ended the game before the Bears had a chance at either the winning touchdown or the tying field goal after driving into position.
After Williams connected Keenan Allen for a 12-yard completion to the Lions 13 in the last minute, the commotion began. The Bears would have had plenty of time to try to win before trying a field goal, but the ball was returned to the 35 after guard Tevin Jenkins was called for illegal hands to the face.
In an attempt to get the first down and set up the field goal, the Bears called a draw play for Williams on second down. Za Darius Smith entered unblocked and sacking Williams for a 6-yard loss, but backup tackle Larry Borom remained still.
Staff turnover was a defining feature of Eberflus’ tenure. Early in the 2023 season, the Bears sacked running backs coach David Walker after former defensive coordinator Alan Williams resigned.
At the end of the season, the majority of the offensive assistants that remained were fired. After winning five of seven games in the latter part of the season, however, with their head coach directing the plays and an improved defense, the Bears decided to continue with Eberflus.
At that time, Poles claimed to have been impressed by Eberflus’ ability to lead throughout difficult times.
On Friday, May 10, 2024, at Halas Hall in Lake Forest, Illinois, Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus addresses a press conference prior to the NFL football team’s rookie camp. (Photo by Nam Y. Huh/AP)
He claimed that despite several early-season setbacks, his ability to remain resilient and keep the club cohesive was amazing.
Poles traded Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the summer, giving the offense a significant overhaul and opening the door for the selection of a quarterback. After surrendering the first overall pick in 2023 to Carolina for DJ Moore, he secured a top receiver for the second consecutive year with the Allen trade. In exchange for Moore, Chicago received the Panthers’ 2024 first-round pick, which they then used to select Williams.
Rome Odunze, a receiver, was also selected by the Bears at number nine. Along with Cole Kmet, they recruited veteran Gerald Everett and running back D Andre Swift to create what appeared to be a formidable tight end duo.
The Bears did not achieve the desired outcomes in spite of all those actions. They are now putting Eberflus behind them.
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