Bears firing of Matt Eberflus comes after locker room talk after ‘s— show’: report
The Chicago Bears wasted no time in firing Matt Eberflus as head coach following the loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day, and the moments after the game may explain why the franchise made the move.
After quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked with 30 seconds left in the Lions’ possession, needing a field goal to force overtime, the clock wound down as the offense tried to punt the ball and remained unstoppable for several ticks to go.
Williams fed DJ Moore, but the Lions fell to the ground and won the game despite the Bears trying to come back in the second half.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH ONE OF THE GAMES ON FOXNEWS.COM
Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus looks on during the game between the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit, Michigan USA, Thursday, November 28, 2024. (Amy Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
What made the headlines was that Eberflus had one timeout in his pocket, but he never used it even though Williams was clearly not moving enough for the game to continue.
After the game, ESPN reported that team president and CEO Kevin Warren hung out in the locker room longer than usual.
“We have to be better,” Warren told the players.
BEARS CEO ACKNOWLEDGES MATT BERFLUS FIRING: ‘I’LL BE THE FIRST TO RAISE MY HAND’
But the biggest talk about Eberflus’ future with the franchise was his postgame locker room speech, which was a show of “—-,” according to one player, per ESPN.
Eberflus started talking to the team after the game, but was interrupted by linebacker Jaylon Johnson, who fell to his Bears teammate.
“There was frustration,” Johnson told WSCR radio station in Chicago on Monday. “There were words that came out of me that I expressed because of my frustration because of the loss.
“One thing I said after the game, I’ve been losing for five years. I feel like a high-level player like me, after a certain point, we lost games the way we were losing, someone has to show something. .It was a temporary thing, and it went the way it went.”
Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus on the sideline during the second half against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. (Photos by David Reginek-Imagn)
Eberflus reportedly left the room after speaking for “seconds,” according to ESPN. And the vibe was the room was classified as “controversial.”
One player told ESPN that, while Eberflus’ intentions were always in the right place, his message about fighting hard and losing kept repeating itself.
“You want to hear it more,” Cole Kmet said. “The coach will say what he will say.”
Ultimately, Eberflus became the first Bears coach in franchise history to be fired midseason, and he did so with a 5-19 record in one-out games — the worst mark in NFL history by at least 20 games. That included a raised Hail Mary against the Washington Commanders that landed at the hands of Noah Brown, while Bears tight end Tyrique Stevenson taunted fans in the stands during the game.
Eberflus’ career status was discussed at the time, and a poor run of games from the end led to the decision to leave the Bears.
Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus talks to the media after the NFL football game against the Chicago Bears in Detroit, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM
The Bears turned to Thomas Brown as their interim coach for the rest of the season.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on Xand subscribe to Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
