The Chicago Bears have fired head coach Matt Eberflus following the disappointing end to the Thanksgiving defeat to the Detroit Lions.

On Thursday, the Lions secured their first win on Thanksgiving Day since 2016 as the NFC North leaders held on to win 23-20 against their division rivals. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams delivered a near-flawless performance despite early struggles by throwing for 256 yards and three touchdowns, but it was all for naught – and Eberflus was immediately blamed and under pressure.

Following a poor showing in the first half, the Bears offense burst into life to open the second half. Williams impressively found Keenan Allen with two touchdown passes either side of a elegantly-thrown score to DJ Moore, and the Bears had possession on what could have been a game-winning drive.

On the final drive of the game, the Bears moved into field goal range before Williams was sacked and, despite having a timeout in their pocket, Chicago head coach Eberflus decided not to call it. The offense scrambled but took their time, and as a result, the Bears fumbled a potential game-tying field goal effort. The writing was on the wall for Eberflus immediately, with criticism coming from all angles.

Allen told reporters the players felt they had done enough to win the game, while Moore questioned the decision not to use the timeout. The blame of the catastrophically embarrassing moment fell on Eberflus, and he becomes the third head coach to be fired in the 2024 season after Robert Saleh (New York Jets) and Dennis Allen (New Orleans Saints).

Eberflus becomes the first Bears head coach to be fired midway through a season. Thomas Brown, who was serving as offensive coordinator following the firing of Shane Waldron, has been named interim head coach.

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The Bears were criticized for retaining Matt Eberflus heading into the 2024 season, rather than moving for an offensive-minded coach to pair with Caleb Williams

The Bears were criticized for retaining Matt Eberflus heading into the 2024 season, rather than moving for an offensive-minded coach to pair with Caleb Williams ( 

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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. Eberflus’ record in one-score games was 5-19 since 2022, which ranks as the worst in NFL history among coaches with at least 20 one-score games in their careers.

Heading into the 2022 season, the Bears hired Eberflus after his run as defensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts. He replaced Matt Nagy, who had led the franchise to two playoff appearances but went 6-11 in his final campaign.

Eberflus struggled; he won just three games in 2022 and seven in 2023. After deliberation over his future, Eberflus was given the chance to lead the Bears into the Williams era having selected the talented Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick while Justin Fields was sent to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Armed with new offensive and defensive coordinators in place, Eberflus, Williams, and the Bears began the season with a 4-2 record. However, their season swiftly unraveled following the stunning Hail Mary loss to the Washington Commanders, with defeats to the Green Bay Packers (on a blocked field goal) and to the Minnesota Vikings (in overtime) racking up. These losses came after the Bears had fired offensive coordinator Waldron, which represented the first time in the franchise had ever fired a coordinator in midseason.

The 4-8 Bears take on the San Francisco 49ers in their next game on Sunday, Dec. 8.