The Chicago Bears Matt Eberflus wasted no time in being fired as head coach after a humiliating loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day, and the moments after the game may explain why the move was made by the franchise.
After the rookie quarterback Caleb Williams Sacked with 30 seconds left in Lions territory, needing a field goal to force overtime, the clock ran out as the offense tried to line up and the ball went unsnapped until several ticks were left.
Williams threw a pass to DJ Moore, but it fell on the turf and the Lions won the game despite the Bears’ second-half comeback efforts.
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Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus watches the game between the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 28, 2024, in Detroit, Michigan, USA. (Amy Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Eberflus kept a timeout in his pocket that caused head-scratching, but he never used it, even though Williams clearly wasn’t moving fast enough to get the play.
After the game, ESPN reported Team president and CEO Kevin Warren was hanging around the locker room longer than usual.
“We have to be better,” Warren told the players.
BEARS admits mishandling CEO Matt Eberflus’ firing: ‘I’ll be the first one to put my hand up’
But even more telling about Eberflus’ future with the franchise was his postgame speech in the locker room, which one player told ESPN was a “s— show.”
Eberflus started talking to the team after the game, while star cornerback Jaylon Johnson laid it out for his fellow Bears.
“There was frustration,” Johnson told WSCR radio in Chicago on Monday. “The words I expressed came from my frustration at losing.
“One of the things I said after the game is that I’ve lost for five years. I feel as a high-level player like myself, after a certain point, how we’re losing games, somebody has to express something. . . It’s a fleeting thing and it went the way it went.”
Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus during the second half against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. (Images by David Rezinek-Imagine)
According to ESPN, Eberflus reportedly walked out of the room after speaking for only “seconds.” And the vibe room is classified as “controversial”.
One player told ESPN that Eberflus’ intentions have always been in the right place, his message about fighting hard and coming up short getting repeated.
“You want to hear it so much,” Cole Kemet said. “Coach is going to say what he’s going to say.”
In the end, Eberflus became the first Bears head coach to be fired mid-season in franchise history, and he did so with a 5-19 record in one-score games — the worst mark in NFL history with at least 20 games. That included the tip against the Hail Mary Washington Commanders Bears cornerback Tyreek Stevenson was yelling at fans in the stands during the play when it landed on Noah Brown.
Eberflus’ work status was then addressed, and bad endings to games ultimately led to the Bears’ decision to move on.
Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus speaks to the media after an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
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The Bears replaced Thomas Brown as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
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