Chicago Bears players tuned Matt Eberflus out long before being fired

After parts of three seasons in which he led a 14-32 record, the Chicago Bears finally fired Matt Eberflus. The final straw came after Thursday’s clock management blunder, which saw the Bears waste 32 seconds of precious time that could have been used to execute their comeback attempt.

But sources close to the situation indicate Coach Eberflus left the locker room well before the Bears’ sixth consecutive loss, which dropped them to 4-8.

Matt Eberflus lost the Chicago Bears locker room long ago

According to The Athletic’s David Jahns and Dianna Russini, multiple Chicago Bears players had grown tired of Matt Eberflus’ message long ago.

“Jaylon went crazy,” one Bears player said. “He was very emotional and pissed but rightfully so. He’s been here longer than most.”

Said another player: “He was going off more so at (Eberflus).”

“Guys were furious,” a staff member said. “It was an accumulation of this season.”

“The locker room was ugly,” another staffer said. “There was a lot of yelling.”

Said the first player: “We felt as players it’s been too many instances where we fought our way back into games to lose because of bad time management and decision-making.”
The Athletic’s report on the Chicago Bears

Coach Eberflus still had two years left on a five-year contract, but the Bears didn’t have any issues making him the first in-season firing in Chicago’s franchise history. Considering how the team was responding, the Bears didn’t feel like they had a choice but to move on, much like they did from offensive coordinator Matt Waldron earlier in the season.

While the final shoe dropped on Thanksgiving, Coach Eberflus dug his grave back in Week 8, when the Commanders completed what looked like an easy 13-yard pass to set up Jayden Daniels’ game-winning Hail Mary, a play that could have been set up better, had Chicago used their final timeout.

“That didn’t sit well in the locker room,” a player said.

“It didn’t go over right,” the second player said. “That week is when he lost the defensive guys.”
Anonymous Chicago Bears players on Matt Eberflus following Commanders loss

Eberflus led the Bears to a 14-32 record across three seasons, but now Thomas Brown gets his first chance at being an NFL head coach, even if it’s just on an interim basis for the time being.