The tense locker room confrontation following the Bears’ Thanksgiving defeat preceded Matt Eberflus’s dismissal.
The Chicago Bears’ Thanksgiving loss to the Detroit Lions, marked by coach Matt Eberflus’s poor clock management, seemed to seal his fate as head coach. On Friday, a day after the defeat, the Bears fired Eberflus, just hours after he publicly expressed confidence in keeping his job.
However, the aftermath of the game was even more telling than the loss itself. According to a report by The Athletic’s Dianna Russini and Adam Jahns, Eberflus tried to rally his team with a message of unity in the postgame locker room. Yet, this attempt at damage control fell flat, particularly with Pro Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson, who reportedly lashed out at Eberflus over his decisions. Other players joined in, questioning why Eberflus didn’t use the team’s final timeout.
Down by three points with 33 seconds left, the Bears were on the Lions’ 41-yard line. Quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked, knocking them out of field goal range. Instead of stopping the clock with their last timeout, the Bears inexplicably let time run down to seven seconds before attempting a deep pass that fell incomplete, sealing their loss.
The locker room scene was described as “ugly,” with players expressing frustration. “As players, we’ve had too many games slip away because of bad time management and decision-making,” an unnamed player told The Athletic.
The Bears’ ownership agreed, making the rare decision to fire Eberflus mid-season — a first in the franchise’s 104-year history. Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, who replaced former play-caller Shane Waldron, was named interim head coach.
