Bears fire Matt Eberflus after 4-8 start to season; Thomas Brown named interim head coach

Eberflus met with reporters Friday morning and expressed his confidence he would be at the helm in Week 14. About two hours later, he’s out after less than three full seasons.

The firing marks the first time in Bears franchise history that they have parted ways with a coach in the middle of the season.

Eberflus ends his tenure in Chicago with a 14-32 record. He started each of his three seasons with four or fewer wins through Week 12.

There were calls in Chicago to move on from Eberflus in the offseason, providing a clean slate for rookie quarterback Caleb Williams to grow. Instead, the Bears stuck with the head coach, who hired new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.

Despite improved weapons, the offense had a rocky start to the season. Chicago fired Waldron after Week 10 and promoted Brown from passing game coordinator to play-caller. The move sparked the attack, but Eberflus’ defense, which had been the backbone of the team, deteriorated.

After a Week 7 bye, the Bears have been on a six-game losing streak that included some glaring coaching mistakes. First came the Week 8 Hail Mary against Washington, a woeful showing at home against New England, and a Week 11 blocked field goal in a loss to rival Green Bay. Thursday’s debacle was the rotten cherry on top. With a timeout in the pocket, Eberflus saw his rookie quarterback burn too much time after a sack with 32 seconds left. Instead of getting at least a game-tying field-goal attempt, Chicago wasted the rest of the clock on a desperation drive that fell incomplete.

Incomplete is how Eberflus’ tenure ends.

While the midseason firing is the first for the Bears, the situation the team finds itself in is not new: Williams becomes Chicago’s third straight first-round QB to play under a different head coach in his second season than his first, following in the footsteps of Mitchell Trubisky (John Fox) and Justin Fields (Matt Nagy).

Brown is now tasked with guiding Chicago through the final five weeks before Bears brass determine the best coach to nurture Williams’ future.