Matt Eberflus declared his confidence in leading the Chicago Bears into their next game just hours before the NFC North franchise fired him.

Eberflus endured a difficult two and a half years in the Windy City, but his reign came to an end following the devastating loss versus the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving. The Lions held off a spirited Bears comeback to win 23-20, with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams delivering an encouraging performance – despite early struggles – by throwing for 256 yards and three touchdowns.

But it was all for nothing in the tight defeat – and Eberflus was immediately placed under immense pressure. On the final drive of the game, the Bears moved into field goal range before Williams was sacked and Eberflus surprisingly decided not to call the final timeout at his disposal.

The offense scrambled to get to the line and run another play, and as a result, the Bears squandered a potential game-tying field goal effort. The writing was on the wall for Eberflus immediately, with criticism coming from all angles before the Bears decided to fire him on Friday.

Eberflus held a press conference in the morning, where he declared his intention to continue leading the Bears despite losing a sixth successive game. He told reporters: “I’m just going to be working on finishing up this game, doing a good job evaluating that – our after-action report like we always do, and then I’ll be working into San Francisco. Again, those are conversations we’ll have and I’m confident that I’ll be working on to San Francisco and getting ready for that game.”

However, hours later, the Bears cut ties with Eberflus – the first time in the franchise’s over 100-year history that they have fired a head coach midseason. His record of 14-32 stands as the third-worst winning percentage in Bears history behind Abe Gibron and John Fox, while Eberflus’ record in one-score games was 5-19 – the worst in NFL history among coaches with at least 20 one-score games in their careers.

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Bears general manager Ryan Poles released a statement following Eberflus’ dismissal, which read: “This morning, after meeting with George [McCaskey] and Kevin [Warren], we informed Matt of our decision to move in a different direction with the leadership of our football team and the head coaching position. 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.”

Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren added: “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.

“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.”

Eberflus becomes the third head coach to be fired in the 2024 season after Robert Saleh (New York Jets) and Dennis Allen (New Orleans Saints). Thomas Brown, who was serving as offensive coordinator following the firing of Shane Waldron earlier this month, has been named interim head coach.