The Chicago Bears, one of the NFL’s oldest franchises, are pinning their hopes on rookie quarterback Caleb Williams to revive their struggling season. But Thanksgiving brought anything but joy for the Bears, as a gut-wrenching 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions sealed the fate of head coach Matt Eberflus. This marked the Bears’ sixth consecutive defeat after a promising 4-2 start, leaving fans frustrated and calling for change.

In a twist straight out of a football drama, Eberflus confidently told reporters, “I’m confident I’ll be working to San Francisco and coaching that game,” just hours before the Bears broke a 104-year tradition and showed him the door. No Bears coach had ever been fired mid-season—until now. Eberflus, seemingly unaware of the looming axe, spoke at a presser as if his job was secure, only to be blindsided after a crushing loss to the Lions.

This shocking move signals a no-nonsense reset for the Bears, likely to align with their future franchise hopes, including the Williams sweepstakes. Eberflus’ abrupt exit isn’t just historic—it’s a harsh reminder that confidence without results doesn’t cut it in the NFL.

The final straw came when Eberflus mismanaged the clock in the closing seconds of the Lions game, refusing to use the team’s last timeout. It left quarterback the 23-year-old QB scrambling and ultimately missing a chance for a dramatic comeback. The HC, whose record in one-score games stood at a dismal 5-19, was fired just hours after addressing the media. His overall 14-32 record and a franchise-worst .311 win percentage cemented his exit, breaking the Bears’ century year tradition of never firing a coach mid-season.

Stepping in as interim head coach is offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, with hopes of steadying the ship for the season’s final stretch. While Eberflus defended his decisions, the Bears are now focused on Williams’ development. With matchups against heavyweights like the 49ers and Packers ahead, all eyes are on whether the team can salvage some pride before season’s end.

Breaking a 104-Year tradition: Caleb Williams’ role in Eberflus’ shocking exit

For 104 years, the Chicago Bears held a rare badge of stability in the NFL, never firing a head coach mid-season. That ironclad tradition ended with Matt Eberflus, whose tenure became a cautionary tale of missed opportunities and mismanagement. The final nail in the coffin? A Thanksgiving meltdown that saw rookie quarterback Caleb Williams unintentionally highlight the dysfunction that doomed Eberflus.

The HC’s infamous non-timeout call in the final seconds against the Lions set the stage for chaos. With the Bears trailing by three and the clock ticking, Williams followed the play Eberflus called instead of taking charge. “I’m living with the call and letting coaches make that decision,” Williams admitted post-game. But as the seconds melted away, he made a last-second adjustment to target Rome Odunze, resulting in an incomplete pass and an expired clock. Critics, like Chase Daniel, blasted the lack of communication. “Wait… Caleb changed the 3rd down play with time running out?? Disaster of a sequence,” he tweeted.

This gaffe, alongside Eberflus’ questionable game management, highlighted a broken dynamic. The rookie’s attempt to make magic amidst chaos unintentionally betrayed his coach, shining a spotlight on the leadership failures that ended Eberflus’ Bears chapter.