The Chicago Bears chose to move in a “different direction” from Matt Eberflus on Friday, dismissing the head coach hours after a Thanksgiving loss to the Detroit Lions. Eberflus has maintained the holiday spirit, however, expressing nothing but thanks to the Bears in a Saturday statement obtained by CBS Sports.
I want to thank the McCaskey family and [general manager] Ryan Poles for the opportunity to be the head coach of the Chicago Bears,” Eberflus said. “I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the players for all of their effort, dedication and resilience. In every situation — practice, games and especially in the face of adversity — you stayed together and gave great effort for your team and each other.
“What I am most proud of,” Eberflus continued, “was the way you carried yourself both on and off the field and represented the Bears organization with class in the community. To the fans, thank you for your support and passion. I will always have a deep appreciation for the Bears organization and the city of Chicago.
The 54-year-old Eberflus went 14-32 in almost three seasons as the Bears’ head coach. Chicago improved from 3-14 to 7-10 in 2023, Eberflus’ second year on the job, but the Bears’ recent slide to 4-8 on the 2024 season was exacerbated by a string of questionable late-game decisions, including a failure to call timeout as the clock expired on a comeback effort against Detroit.
Eberflus will be replaced by interim Thomas Brown for the remainder of the season, becoming the first Bears head coach to be fired in-season during the McCaskey family’s ownership of the franchise. Brown began the 2024 campaign as Chicago’s new pass game coordinator, but was promoted to offensive coordinator upon the dismissal of Shane Waldron, who’d just joined the team this offseason, after just nine games.
Read the full article here
