The Bears’ firing of Matt Eberflus was as painful internally because it seemed from the surface.
In a scathing ESPN report detailing the moments following the embarrassing ending sequence within the Bears’ Thanksgiving Day loss to the Lions, the now-fired coach solely consoled his workforce for “seconds” earlier than chaos broke out.
One workforce supply instructed the web site that the postgame scene was a “s–t show.”
The unstable locker room, headlined by second-team All-Professional cornerback Jaylon Johnson, interrupted Eberflus’ tone-deaf postgame speech about arising quick.
“There was frustration,” Johnson instructed WSCR radio in Chicago on Monday. “There was words from myself that I expressed just from my frustration from losing.”
After Johnson’s interruption, Eberflus reportedly lower his message quick and walked off.
“You only want to hear it so much,” tight finish Cole Kmet mentioned. “Coach is going to say what he’s going to say.”
Chicago had pushed the ball down the sector to the Detroit 25 with 56 seconds left, primed to a minimum of kick a game-tying subject aim and maybe win the sport outright with a landing.
A ten-yard penalty adopted by rookie quarterback Caleb Williams taking a sack would push them again to the 42-yard line.
When Williams took the sack, that they had one timeout with 32 seconds remaining on third down.
Eberflus bizarrely allowed the time to run off and the play didn’t begin till 5 seconds remained. A deep incompletion to Rome Odunze would finish the sport and seal the Bears’ sixth straight loss.
After the sport, basic supervisor Ryan Poles and workforce president Kevin Warren caught round within the locker room however left after some encouraging phrases to gamers.
The subsequent day, Eberflus was allowed to talk with the media for his typical day-after-game media availability, the place the Bears coach expressed confidence that he wouldn’t be fired and that the end-of-game sequence was dealt with “the right way.”
The Zoom assembly with the media had “zero” to do with the firing, as ESPN provides that Warren and workforce brass had been concurrently in conferences deciding the way forward for their coach.
“I have just learned over my career that it’s important to try to at least get a good night’s sleep, which I don’t think any of us did Thursday night, but at least try to think clearer and be respectful to make better decisions,” Warren mentioned Monday over the timing of the choice.
Williams, the No. 1 decide within the 2024 NFL Draft, was additionally a serious piece of the pondering as his first season has included him exhibiting off his potential even because the losses mount.
The Oklahoma and USC standout has performed higher in latest weeks, throwing 5 touchdowns to zero interceptions in his final three weeks because the firing of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.
Chicago misplaced all these video games on the ultimate play towards their three NFC North rivals — the Packers, Vikings and Lions.
They’ll face the 49ers, Vikings and Lions of their subsequent three weeks as they give the impression of being to rebuild their teaching workers this offseason.
Poles instructed reporters after the firing that he expects the Bears’ head teaching job to be the “most coveted” within the NFL and that he’ll do the hiring.
