Much like what he said whenever he stepped to the podium, the Matt Eberflus era was mostly filler. The Bears’ near-total waste of time under his watch ended Friday when they fired him in his third season with a 14-32 record and a string of embarrassing errors.
Thomas Brown, a 38-year-old rising star, is the interim coach for the final five games, beginning Dec. 8 at the 49ers. He began the season as passing-game coordinator and moved to offensive coordinator when Eberflus fired Shane Waldron two weeks ago.
Brown is expected to speak to reporters when players return to Halas Hall on Monday. The Bears haven’t said when or if general manager Ryan Poles and president Kevin Warren will talk. Both sent out statements Friday, including Warren acknowledging that Bears fans “deserve better results” than they were getting under Eberflus.
In 105 years as a franchise, he is the first head coach the Bears have ever fired in-season.
His departure was as awkward as his arrival. Eberflus actually spoke to the media on Zoom around 9 a.m. Friday for his regular day-after-game availability. He deflected three questions about his job security and repeatedly described his workday as “normal.” He was out of a job within two hours.
Eberflus might’ve had a hint he was in trouble when he avoided giving a yes-or-no answer to the direct question of whether he had certainty he would be coaching the Bears in their next game.
“The operation’s been normal in terms of debrief after the game, coming in, grading the tape, meeting with the coordinators,” he said. “It’s been a normal operation.”
That’s the type of answer someone gives in court to avoid lying.
There was little “normal” about Eberflus’ tenure, beginning with the Bears’ process of replacing former coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace after their firing in January 2022. Chairman George McCaskey and former president Ted Phillips began interviewing coaching candidates and appeared to narrow it to finalists before hiring Poles.
When Poles introduced him to the media at Halas Hall as the team’s 17th head coach, Eberflus was surprised by the quiet auditorium.
“No applause, huh?” he chided. “Come on.”
That was the first minute of his first day. From there, it got weirder. And worse.
Eberflus went 3-14 in 2022, which was the franchise’s worst record in more than 50 years, then 7-10 with a decent roster last season and was 4-8 with six consecutive losses after mismanaging the clock at the end of a 23-20 loss to the Lions on Thursday.
Eberflus allowed the clock to run out with the Bears threatening to tie or win the game and left Ford Field with one timeout still in his pocket, leaving his players and bosses dumbfounded. He defended his decisions one last time on his way out the door, adding Friday morning, “Hindsight’s 20/20.”
That was the last in a long line of losses and collapses in which his mistakes were central to the team’s unraveling. He ended his Bears career on a six-game losing streak, which began with a horribly misplayed final sequence against the Commanders that culminated in a backbreaking Hail Mary and continued with costly last-second blunders in losses to the Packers and Lions.
Eberflus’ explanations exacerbated every episode. The same was true of the Bears’ various off-field snafus.
Last season went off track almost immediately with defensive coordinator Alan Williams, a longtime Eberflus assistant, resigning because of misconduct. Then he fired running backs coach David Walker for misconduct. At the end of the season, he fired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy as part of preserving his own job.
Eberflus appeared oblivious to the issues with Waldron, at one point saying emphatically he wasn’t going to consider changing play callers, then dismissing him a week later. He was the sixth assistant coach to resign or be fired in less than three seasons.
He continued to insist the Bears were improving, but had no credibility to convince anyone.
He came in trumpeting substance over style, then proved to have neither. Even the H.I.T.S. principles buckled toward the end as his team was undisciplined and disorganized, undercutting a talented roster. He said he’d take a CEO-type approach to his position, then chose to remain as defensive play caller this season despite hiring veteran coordinator Eric Washington.
No makeover or favorable depiction on “Hard Knocks” could mask those flaws. Eberflus tried to improve his image ahead of what many believed would be a breakout season for the Bears, but it faded quickly. He needed more than a beard and a haircut.
The high point of his run as coach was a three-game winning streak early this season against lightweight opponents that got the Bears to 4-2. That was an aberration.
Eberflus’ overall record is the third-worst in franchise history, and he finished 2-13 in the NFC North, including 0-5 against the Packers. He also went 3-19 on the road and holds an obscure yet odd distinction of having never won an away game on a Sunday. He was 2-22 against teams that either finished the season with a winning record or currently have one.
His missteps were repetitive, and it was clear the Bears were headed for more of them if they didn’t change course.
It was impossible to be confident in him facilitating rookie Caleb Williams’ growth, especially after the Waldron debacle. Players clearly were losing faith, and it looked like a locker room revolt could be on the horizon. And given that there was no chance of Eberflus earning the right to come back after this season, his exit was inevitable.
They were unwilling to endure another day of this, let alone five more weeks.