Bears fire coach Matt Eberflus one day after Thanksgiving disaster loss

The Bears fired head coach Matt Eberflus one day after Chicago’s 23-20 loss to the Lions on Thursday that featured inexplicable clock management and sent the team to a sixth straight loss.

Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown will take over as interim head coach, the team announced.

It is the first time in Chicago’s 100 plus-year history that the franchise has fired a head coach midseason.

The move came within hours of his off-day press conference on Zoom on Friday morning in which he took responsibility for questionable play-calls during the Thanksgiving loss, including letting the clock run from 32 seconds down to six seconds with a timeout available.

Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams threw an incomplete pass to wideout Rome Odunze as time expired.

Eberflus said he met with team president Kevin Warren and general manager Ryan Poles after the loss for their normal postgame debrief and was supposed to meet with them again this afternoon — telling reporters he felt “confident” he’d be the Bears head coach moving forward.

“I talked to him about all the details about what the calls in terms of where we were and I thought the operation was good, just the penalties, I thought, put us behind the sticks a couple times there,” he said. “We were in scoring position and really could have owned the game from there.

“But again, ultimately all these decisions are my decision. I take full accountability for them and we didn’t get it done. It’s unfortunate for the players, for the fans and again, we’re going to get back to work.”

He had a 14-32 record in nearly three seasons at the helm in Chicago.

“This morning, after meeting with George and Kevin, we informed Matt of our decision to move in a different direction with the leadership of our football team and the head coaching position,” Poles said in a statement. “I thank Matt for his hard work, professionalism and dedication to our organization. We extend our gratitude for his commitment to the Chicago Bears and wish him and his family the best moving forward.”

Brown is now tasked with coaching a Bears team that dropped to 4-8 heading into a Week 14 clash with the 49ers (5-6) in San Francisco.

In the last two and a half weeks, Brown went from passing game coordinator to interim offensive coordinator after Shane Waldron’s dismissal and now to head coach.

“I support Ryan and the decision that was made this morning. We understand how imperative the head-coaching role is for building and maintaining a championship-caliber team, leading our players and our organization,” Warren said in the team’s statement. “Our fans have stood by us and persevered through every challenge, and they deserve better results. Our organizational and operational structure is strong, focused, aligned and energized for the future.”

The Bears are the third team to fire their coach this season, after the Jets moved on from Robert Saleh and the Saints axed Dennis Allen.