Matt Eberflus was probably working on borrowed time this season before finally getting fired on Friday. Many called for his job after the Chicago Bears went 7-10 last season, a campaign with four straight losses and a 2-7 start, followed by a 3-14 debut season in 2022.
The previous year’s trade with the Carolina Panthers had the Bears on track for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and it was questionable whether a franchise quarterback prospect — widely expected to be USC star Caleb Williams — should begin his career with a coach who might be fired.
But then Chicago started playing better under Eberfluss. Here’s a timeline of how it all went wrong from there:
A 5-3 finish in 2023 saved Eberflus’ job
Leaving players to coach is perhaps the worst accusation, yet the Bears weren’t doing that. They were playing hard for Eberflus and the results were starting to show on the scoreboard. The turnaround began with a Week 10 win over the Panthers, then made it two of three wins before their bye week.
After the bye, Chicago went 5-3 in its last eight games, including a win over the Detroit Lions. The Bears still finished last in the NFC North, but general manager Ryan Pols said the improved play showed leadership and believes Eberfluss will remain stable.
“Just in terms of his leadership and stability,” Pols said. “I really think that the head coach has to be able to lead the ship in stormy seas and really keep everything in order. When you go through tough times and you can keep everyone together, that’s important for a big market. You have to be strong. will.”
New offense, new franchise QB
While keeping his job, Eberflus quickly changed his offensive personnel, hoping to add a new, young quarterback. Luke Getsy was sacked and Shane Waldron was appointed.
In three seasons leading the Seattle Seahawks’ offense, Waldron worked with Russell Wilson, then helped revive Geno Smith’s career. The thinking was that he could play a major role in tutoring Williams during his rookie season.
It looked like a good move as Chicago started 4-2. Yet after nine games, Eberflus decided the offense wasn’t working with Waldron and he was fired. The Bears fall to 4-5 and have gone 23 consecutive possessions without a touchdown despite a potentially upgraded offense with No. 1 pick Williams, joined by De’Andre Swift and receiver Keenan Allen and Rome Odunge star wideout DJ Moore.
Passing game coordinator Thomas Brown was promoted to OC, but firing Waldron was like a head coach in jeopardy taking action to save his job.
Late game mishaps
Chicago’s record was discouraging enough, but what really worked against Eberfluss were late game decisions that cost his team potential wins. In his third season, game and clock management seemed inept. The players stuck with Eberflus, but the mistakes affected their trust in him and were almost certainly a key factor in the decision to change coaching.
The last start was in Week 8 when the Bears lost to the Washington Commanders 18-15 on a 52-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass from Jayden Daniels to Noah Brown with no time remaining.
Three weeks later, the Bears won against the rival Green Bay Packers. Chicago drove 42 yards in seven plays, moving into position for a game-winning field goal on three passes for 49 yards by Williams.
However, Cairo Santos’ 46-yard field goal attempt was blocked and the Packers escaped with a 20–19 win. Eberflus and the Bears complained to the NFL that Green Bay’s TJ Slaton made illegal contact with long snapper Scott Daley. But the league disagreed, holding up another disastrous loss for Chicago.
The following week, the Bears scored a touchdown, recovered an onside kick and kicked a 48-yard field goal to tie the Minnesota Vikings 27–27 and send the game into overtime. Unfortunately, Chicago went three-and-out on the first possession of OT due to a sack and a false start penalty.
On its next possession, Minnesota drove 68 yards in 10 plays and Sam Darnold completed six passes. Parker Romo kicked a 29-yard field goal to give the Vikings the win, denying the Bears after a gutsy comeback.
Türkiye Day Tomfoolery
That led to a Thanksgiving Day loss at Detroit in which the Bears had 36 seconds left and a timeout to gain a few more yards for a plausible game-tying field goal. However, after Williams was sacked, Eberflus did not use the timeout and six seconds remained on the clock. All the Bears can do is attempt a desperation pass toward the end zone that falls incomplete.
Those watching criticized Iberfluss’ inept clock management, yet he insisted he liked how those final seconds played out. What everyone else saw was a head coach failing to salvage a game-tying opportunity for his team when it was in that situation.
That included the players, who later expressed their disbelief, and Bears executives who could no longer listen to Eberfluss’s reasoning, making an obvious decision that made for a lost final season for a doomed head coach.
