Matt Eberflus avoided losing his job following the 2023 NFL season, though many expected his time in Chicago to come to an end. There was some turnover of staff on the offensive side of the ball, while it was determined that Eberflus would still lead the team and the defense in 2024. Despite a new offensive coordinator and a rookie quarterback drafted No. 1 overall, things have not been much better for the Bears this season. With the pressure on his job continuing to build, mistakes like the one made today continue to spell doubt concerning Eberflus’ future in Chicago. 
At the end of the today’s Thanksgiving Day matchup against the division rival Lions, the Bears were looking primed to make an upset. Down three in the waning moments of the fourth quarter with one timeout, Chicago was driving down the field, potentially for a game-winning touchdown but almost certainly for a game-tying field goal that could send the game into overtime, at the very least. Surely, Bears fans held recent memories of a game-ending field goal going horribly wrong only two weeks ago against the Packers, so today’s outcome held little chance of matching that heartbreak.
Little did they know how the game would come to an unceremonious end. At Detroit’s 25-yard line, the Bears completed a pass taking Keenan Allen out of bounds at the 13-yard line with 36 seconds to go, but an illegal use of hands penalty by left guard Teven Jenkins instead moved them back 10 yards. On the next play, Caleb Williams got sacked for a six-yard loss to the 41-yard line. With a 3rd & 26, Chicago needed to, at the very least, get the ball back into workable field goal range to potentially tie the game. It was expected that they would quickly run a play to do so then call their final timeout for the field goal try. Instead, the rookie Williams spent an excessive amount of time organizing the offense for the third down play, letting the clock continue to run down until they snapped the ball with six seconds in the game. By the time Williams’ pass attempt to rookie wideout Rome Odunze fell harmlessly to the ground, the game clock had hit zero and the game was lost.
Following the loss, several players expressed shock that the game came to an end with the team heading home with a timeout in their pocket. According to Adam Jahns of The Athletic, Eberflus delivered a message to his team in the moments after the loss, but most players declined to relay his comments to the media. The media asked Eberflus, directly, if he was concerned with his job security.
“This is the NFL,” Eberflus answered, per ESPN’s Courtney Cronin. “I know where it is. I’m just going to put my best foot forward, and I’m going to get to work and keep grinding. So that’s what we do.” When asked if he expected to be the Bears’ head coach next week, he repeated, “I’m going to keep grinding and working. That’s what I do.”
It’s hard to say that the Bears have been an absolute disaster during Eberflus’ tenure as they’ve been decently competitive despite the poor results. Associated Press sports writer Josh Debow provided the statistic that out of 221 NFL head coaches who have had 20 or more games decided by seven points or fewer, Eberflus’ .227 win percentage (5-17) ranks 221st. More significant to this season, Cronin pointed out that, during Chicago’s six-game losing streak, the Bears are the first team since turnovers were first tracked as a stat in 1933 to not commit multiple turnovers in any of the games in a losing streak of that length.
Those stats point to two concerning facets of the coaching game, the first of which is winning close games. While winning at all is obviously resultant on a team’s talent, winning close games can often come down to game management and decisions made by the coaching staff. The fact that the team is losing close games and losing games while limiting turnovers likely means that the Bears are, for the most part, putting themselves in a position to win. While many factors contribute to a final result, a significant amount of blame is going to fall on Eberflus’ shoulders in these situations.
The axe has already fallen on former Jets head coach Robert Saleh and former Saints head coach Dennis Allen. In an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer predicted that the current number of two firings could end up rising to somewhere around seven to 10 by Black Monday. Breer listed Jacksonville and Dallas as potential destinations needing new leadership, and with today’s loss as an exclamation point, it’s seeming more and more likely that Chicago can be considered, as well.
