The Bears have broken tradition and fired a head coach in the midst of a disastrous season.
There had to be a first time, and this move was long overdue. For the first time in the 105-year history of the Chicago Bears, the franchise has fired a head coach in the middle of a season. Per a report from Tom Pelissero, Matt Eberflus has been let go, and offensive coordinator Thomas Brown will serve as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
The report came a couple of hours after the franchise paraded Eberflus in front of the media one last time for his usual day-after presser.
This year started strongly for the Bears, but after a 4-2 start, they came out of their bye week looking uninspired and uninterested and lost six consecutive games. They were outcoached in Washington, and while the Hail Mary is the single moment that will live in the NFL history books, the game plan and final minute sequence were horrendous.
They desperately needed to bounce back in Arizona, but the team showed no fight for their head coach, and Eberflus leaving rookie Caleb Williams in a blowout loss to take unnecessary punishment was moronic.
Next up, they were back home against a bad New England team, who was playing with a patchwork offensive line of their own, and Chicago again played flat and failed to move the ball.
Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was fired after the Pats’ loss, but that was a bandaid on a hemorrhaging wound.
They blew the game against the Green Bay Packers, as Eberflus was content with a longer field goal try despite a timeout and some time left on the clock.
Then, another one-score loss in overtime against the Minnesota Vikings as his defense gave up third and longs all day.
And finally, the game that pushed the decision-makers over the edge: a nationally televised game on Thanksgiving with some of Eberflus’ patented late-game time management.
Bears’ brass will now get a head start on vetting candidates, but there’s sure to be one name atop the fans’ wish list: Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
Thomas Brown, who went from passing game coordinator to offensive coordinator to interim head coach in a few weeks, has a big opportunity in front of him, but his number one priority still needs to be developing Caleb Williams.
Jeff Berckes and I went live on our 2nd City Gridiron channel to talk about the move.
And the podcast version is here.