Bears make decision on head coach Matt Eberflus

Nov 9, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus looks on before a game against the Carolina Panthers at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Bartel-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Bears have seen enough of head coach Matt Eberflus after the team’s Thanksgiving Day debacle.

Eberflus was fired by the Bears on Friday, according to multiple reports. Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown will be named Chicago’s interim head coach.

There had already been talk that Eberflus was on the hot seat, and Thursday’s loss to the Detroit Lions likely sealed his fate. The Bears were trailing 23-20 late in the fourth quarter at Ford Field when they should have been able to tie the game with a field goal at worst. Chicago got all the way to the Lions’ 25-yard line with 46 seconds remaining before committing a penalty, taking a sack, and then somehow throwing an incomplete pass on the final play despite having a timeout remaining.

After the game, Eberflus told reporters he thought the disastrous sequence was handled the right way. Caleb Williams later made a revelation about the final play that only looked worse for Eberflus and Chicago’s coaching staff.

Eberflus, 54, finishes with a 14-32 record in two-plus years with the Bears. He is the first head coach to ever be fired by the team in the middle of a season.

Chicago’s loss to the Lions was the team’s sixth straight. The Bears began the year 4-2.