Bears Fire Matt Eberflus After Late-Game Blunder Against Lions
Well, it’s official, Matt Eberflus has been fired from the Chicago Bears organization. Bears fans around the world couldn’t be more happy as they’ve been anticipating this for a few weeks now. Yesterday, the Bears lost to the Detroit Lions 20-23 after one of the worst clock management occurrences in NFL history. This was indeed the final straw for Eberflus as the head coach for the Chicago Bears. Especially with Thanksgiving being yesterday, this is something Bears fans can finally be thankful for.
With one timeout remaining in field goal range trailing 20-23, the Bears could have sent the game to overtime. It was second down for Chicago with about 30 seconds left in the game and Caleb Williams dropped back to get sacked. As Williams was trying to get his teammates back on the line to run a play, the clock had ticked from 30 to 15 seconds and had not used the timeout yet. Caleb ended up taking too much time and snapped the ball with five seconds remaining. The throw was incomplete and the game was over.
The Bears started the season 4-2 and have lost six straight since their Bye Week. This losing streak started in Week Eight with the 18-15 loss to the Washington Commanders when Noah Brown caught the hail mary. Some could say the Bears lost all the momentum they had after their bye week considering the Bears won three straight heading into it. In each of the last three losses to the NFC North, the Bears have come by a total of seven points and were decided on the final plays of the games. In Week 11, the Bears lost to the Packers when Cairo Santos’ game-winning field goal attempt was blocked. A week later, they lost 30-27 in overtime to the Vikings after scoring 10 points in the final 22 seconds of regulation to tie the game. Then yesterday, we almost saw the Bears overcome a 16-point deficit to the Lions.
This firing of Eberflus would be the first time in Chicago Bears history that a coach has been fired mid-season. Eberflus originally signed a five-year deal that ran through the 2026 season, so he would’ve had two more years remaining on his contract. He ended his tenure in Chicago with a 14-32 record and no playoff appearances. Since the hiring of Eberflus, the Bears finished the 2022 season with a 3-14 record, then the 2023 season with a 7-10 record.
After selecting Caleb Williams as the number one overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Bears had high hopes of turning things around this year. Williams has looked a lot better since the Bears parted ways with Shane Waldron as the offensive coordinator. Chicago now begins the search for their next head coach to lead this franchise in a new era. The talent is there for the Bears, they just need the right person to lead them there.
