Former Chicago Bears head coach Dave Wannstedt shares his thoughts on the team’s decision to part ways with Matt Eberflus in the middle of the season.
Former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus issued a statement Saturday after his historic firing, which came on the heels of a gut-wrenching 23-20 loss on Thanksgiving Day to the NFC-best Detroit Lions.
According NFL on CBS lead insider Jonathan Jones, Eberflus issued the following statement:
"I would like to thank the McCaskey family and Ryan Poles for the opportunity to be the head coach of the Chicago Bears.
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 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."
In a statement shortly after reports came out that Eberflus was being "relieved of his duties" as head coach, Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Poles said he met with Chairman George McCaskey and CEO Kevin Warren Friday morning and informed Eberflus of the team's decision "to move in a different direction with the leadership of our football team and the head coach 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," Poles' statement read.
The news came just after Eberflus spoke to media reporters for a press conference Friday morning, where he said he was "confident" he would be with the team for their upcoming game in San Francisco.
At the same time, the team announced Thomas Brown, who recently became the offensive coordinator following Shane Waldron's firing, would be "elevated" to interim head coach.
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“I support Ryan and the decision that was made this morning," Warren said in a statement. "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."
The firing of Eberflus marks the first time in Bears’ franchise history that the team has parted ways with a head coach during the season, and marks the end to one of the most controversial tenures in the history of the organization.
Eberflus’ tenure came to an end after another devastating loss on Thursday against the Detroit Lions, the team’s sixth in a row after starting the season with a 4-2 record.
This loss came as the Bears floundered on the field in the closing seconds, with Eberflus not calling a timeout and the team only executing one play in the final 36 seconds of action to squander a chance to score a dramatic comeback win over the top team in the NFC.
Eberflus’ record in one-score games dropped to 5-19 during his tenure in Chicago, with his mark the worst in NFL history among coaches with at least 20 one-score games in their careers.
Overall, Eberflus finished his Bears tenure with a record of 14-32, good for the third-worst winning percentage in Bears history behind Abe Gibron and John Fox.
Now, the Bears will look to show progress in a number of areas over the season’s final five weeks, which will resume with a trip to the Bay Area to take on the San Francisco 49ers on Dec. 8.
Key to all of it will be the development of Williams, who has seemingly found his stride under acting offensive coordinator Thomas Brown. Williams has set several Bears rookie records in recent weeks, and will look to continue that progress as the Bears face matchups with the 49ers, Seahawks, Lions, Vikings and Packers to conclude the year.
Also undecided is the future of Poles, who stuck with Eberflus as head coach this season despite a series of rough losses in the 2023 season. That decision, along with the struggles of both the offensive and defensive lines this season, have left Poles facing strong criticism for not putting his rookie quarterback in a position to succeed.
